Spirits and the Village gate of Akha

Although formal aspects of the Akha Way are based primarily on the Akha relationship with the ancestors, in everyday life they are continually concerned about unseen spirit forces. According to Akha myth, human beings and these 'spirits' originally lived together in an idyllic relationship. All animals, wild and domesticated, also lived together in perfect harmony. Human beings tilled their fields in the daytime, and spirits tilled theirs at night. Trouble broke out, however, when spirits began to steal chicken eggs from people, and people began stealing cucumbers from spirits. As the conflict grew it was finally decided they should separate-people living in villages and spirits in the jungle. In order to provide a clear demarcation between the human and spirit realms, it was decided that 'village gates' should be erected at the upper and lower ends of an Akha village.

In compliance with this myth Akha still maintain such village gates. If they follow the ritual requirements fully, they pass through one of the gates each time they enter the village, in order to decontaminate themselves from the spirit powers in the jungle. The gates are sacred, and must not be defiled by anyone, whether villager or outsider. Should someone do so the elders will fine him, since such contamination necessitates a special offering to purify the gates.
The main gate is usually located on the path at the upper part of the village. The primary function of the gate and the wooden figures associated with it is to 'protect the village from hawks and wildcats, leopards and tigers, illness and plague, leprosy and epilepsy, vampires and were tigers, and all other bad and wicked things'

The village gates are renewed each year under the direction of the village priest. Young men go out, cut timbers, and erect two new posts and a crossbar just beyond the posts erected the previous year. Through time a tunnel of progressively rotting timbers accumulates from the earlier gates leading into the village. Wooden replicas of guns, crossbows, and birds, along with several bamboo taboo signs are placed on the crossbar of the new gate to prevent spirits from entering. Some Akha have modernized their gates with the addition of miniature airplanes and helicopters. Visitors should not touch these gates or anything related to them. If not planning to enter at least one house, one should not go through the gate or walk through the village, but travel, if possible, on a path which leads around it.

The Akha Way : Ancestors

Ancestors: An Akha perceives himself as being the link between his ancestors and his progeny. He hopes that after his death his descendants will care for him with offerings as he has done for his ancestors. The place for the ancestral offerings is the ancestral altar. It consists either of a section of bamboo tied to a roof support close to the main housepost on the womans' section of the house, or else a small shelf built in the same place. The altar contains the first three heads of rice cut in the previous harvest. A basket containing paraphernalia used for the ancestral offerings is kept beneath the altar.

The offerings feed' the ancestors so they in turn will 'feed' or care for the family by providing abundant rice, wealth, good health, and everything else necessary for the continuation of the line. A small chicken and four other items of food and drink are included in each offering. Five small bowls containing these elements are set on an offering table and placed before the ancestral altar. The ancestors are then invited to come and partake.

The man making the offering politely turns his back so the ancestors can 'come down and eat'. Then he calls the family members to come and participate. The one officiating, usually the household head, takes a morsel of each item offered and eats it. Other members of the family are then given a morsel of each offering, which they receive with both hands held together and bring to their mouths to eat. Anyone who has ever killed another person is barred from taking part in the ceremony-indeed is not even supposed to be in the village at the time.

At the completion of the ceremony the one who has made the offering strikes a gong several times. Extra rice cakes might be placed on the mat over the fireplace and later fed to relatives and friends who come to visit during that offering period. Having eaten, they in turn pronounce a blessing on the household.

Each ancestral offering ceremony must begin on a day auspicious for the village priest. A day of the Akha twelve-day week on which any member of the priest's family was born or died is not auspicious. The most important time for ancestral offerings are New Year, rice planting, the village swing ceremony and rice harvest.

The Akha Way : Myths

Myths :Akha myths speak of a great all-powerful being whom they call 'Apoe Miyeh'. The first part of the name means 'male ancestor', which may help non-Akha to understand their concept of this being. At times it is difficult to distinguish whether they are attributing a given quality or activity to Apoe Miyeh or to the ancestors.

Akha believe Apoe Miyeh created the first beings from whom all people descended. According to one myth he called representatives of the various tribal groups to his abode, and gave out 'books' instructing them in his way. The book he gave the Akha was written on the skin of a water buffalo. On the way back to their village the Akha saw several mysterious signs which they attributed to the fact that they were carrying Apoe Miyeh's book. Therefore, they roasted the buffalo skin and ate it. On that day, say the Akha, they lost their book, but they continue to have Apoe Miyeh's wisdom in their stomachs.

Other myths tell of Apoe Miyeh's dealings with the Akha cultural heroes, including instructions he gave them on how to make the ancestral altar and how to perform offerings to the ancestors.
Akha believe that Apoe Miyeh continues to be involved with them to this day. It is by means of his power, for example, that their rice is 'cleansed', thus insuring a good crop. They are careful not to offend Apoe Miyeh. If a person were to say that a new-born baby is ugly, then Apoe Miyeh would feel they do not appreciate his gift and 'take the baby back'.

The Akha Way

Akha often refer to themselves as those who 'carry the Akha Way'. The have no word for 'religion', but the term 'Akha Way' covers it-and much more. It includes all their traditions and ceremonies. The Akha Way determines how they cultivate their fields and hunt animals, how they view and treat sickness, and the manner in which they relate to one anther and to outsiders. It is all embracing. Any who become Christians, or for any reason discontinue the observance of the Akha Way, expected to leave the village.

The Akha Way is delineated in their mythology, proverbs, and traditions. The manner in which they carry out the Way may vary from clan to clan and village to village, but the main theme is the same: each is a link in a great chain, a part of the Akha continuum, which must be maintained at all cost.

House of Akha

There is an aura of sacredness about an Akha house, for in it is kept the ancestral altar, which is the focus for all ceremonies relating to the ancestors. Consequently there is a prescribed way in which household items must be brought into a mew home. First all the paraphernalia to do with the ancestral altar must be taken in, along with the three-legged iron cooking stand on which their rice is cooked. After that other household furnishings can be moved in.

Houses are usually built up on posts, although sometimes the side on the upper slope of the mountain is built directly on the ground, while the down-hill side is elevated. The space under the house affords a convenient shelter for the animals, as well as storage space for firewood and equipment. In case of two-level houses, the cooking and eating area is on the ground, and the family sleeps on the elevated portion.

Akha houses have no windows, and the roof is constructed in such a way that the eaves come down very low on both sides. This results in a dark interior, but keeps out the wind and rain, and provides a work space outside under the eaves. There are two main sections , the men's and the women's, with a shoulder-high partition between the sections extending as far as the central house beam. One area is for sleeping, the other for work and various activities. The ancestral altar is hung on the woman's side of the partition.

Each house has two open fireplaces for cooking. The one in the men's side is used primarily for cooking meat and brewing tea, while rice and vegetables are cooked on the woman's hearth. Usually there is a third fireplace on the woman's side where pig food is cooked.

It is improper for an outsider to walk through an Akha house, entering one door and leaving by the other, just as it is not acceptable for a person to go directly through an Akha village without entering some home and having at least a drink of water. Food or drink will always be offered in an Akha home, and it is important for the guest to partake, even if only a token amount. Otherwise it appears that the visitor is an intruder-perhaps even a thief. Male guests should not enter the women's section of the house unless invited to do so by the head of the household. Women visitors, on the other hand, can enter the men's section along with other visitors.

Villages of Akha

An Akha village can be identified at a glance by its gates, the towering village swing, and the distinctive style of the houses with their massive roofs. Ideally, a village is built on the saddle back of a mountain where there is a good breeze, a dependable source of drinking water, and adequate arable land in the surrounding area.

In addition to using the 'three grains of rice' method to test a potential village site. Akha elders also use the 'egg drop' method of divining the ideal spot where the spirits, ancestors, and the local 'Lord of Land and Water' are willing to let them settle. An area about one meter square is cleared and a shallow hole made in the center with the dirt being tamped down firmly. The 'village priest' drips a raw egg from the height of his ear into this hole. If the egg breaks, the unseen forces are granting permission for the village to settle there. If it does not break-and

Akha insist that they have seen such instances-they try other places until the egg breaks.
The first house to be built must be that of the village priest. Once his house has been completed the village has been established. The rest of the houses will be grouped around his house in an egalitarian fashion. There is one exception, however. Any family which has ever had 'human rejects' must build their house on a lower slope below all other houses. 'human rejects' are twins or any bay the Akha consider to be abnormal. Such families must be at the lowest elevation to ensure that debris from their house will not wash down and contaminate the other houses.

A village will often have more than one name. In Thai it may be named after some physical feature, such as 'Broken Pock Village', and 'Cogon Grass Village'. They prefer Akha names, often the name of the current or former village riest or political headman. When the name or description of the location is used, the word 'Akha' follows, such as 'Law Lo Akha', whereas when the name of a person is used, the word 'village' is added, as in 'Abaw Tu She Pu'

Everyone in an Akha village should be under the protection of an 'ancestral altar', and participate in the periodic 'ancestral offerings'. If a non-Akha man marries an Akha woman and moves into her village, he must first become a member of the clan of his wife, or of someone living there. He has to take part in all the ceremonies along with everyone lese, and must accept the village priest as having the final word in following the Akha Way.

Akha Ornamentation

Jewellery: Most Akha ornamentation is attached to their clothing. In addition women wear broad flat silver neck rings and wide, plain or engraved silver bracelets. Men wear smooth, round neck rings and bracelets, and sometimes crown-shaped silver rings in their turbans or on their fingers. These days aluminum is often substituted for silver, which has been sold to but food or opium. In some cases, fear of robbery has caused them to bury their silver, and use aluminum for everyday wear.

Akha elders highly value items of silver which are prestige symbols, such as large hollow silver bracelets, tobacco and betel-nut boxes, and long silver pipes. Many Akha women wear antique glass beads of Chinese origin, which have been handed down from mother to daughter for many generations. Most of the smaller beads are of Wuropean origin, the oldest probably having been traded in China by European traders over several centuries. Some Akha women are selling off their valuable antique beads and replacing them with cheap plastic ones.

The coins used on headdresses and other garments are of several types. Those who can afford them use silver coins, such as silver Indian rupees. Burmese, Indochinese, and Thai coins of small value are also used.

Phami-Akha Style

Phami-Akha Style: The woman's headdress is shaped somewhat like a helmet, and is totally encrusted with silver buttons, coins, and beads. Numerous strings of mostly red beads are attached to the sides of the headdress falling nearly to the waist.

The jacket has numerous overlapping strips of indigo-blue cloth edged with white, stitched in tiers down the back. Each strip is embroidered with delicate patterns. The sleeves are also embroidered, as are the sash, leggings and shoulder bag. The man's jacket is long, and is covered with plain overlapping strips of indigo-dyed cloth edged with white. It may fasten either in the front or down the left side. Often a row of silver coins or a silver chain with bells is stitched down the opening of the jacket.

Loimi-Akha Style

Loimi-Akha Style : The woman's headdress is characterized by a flat, trapezoid-shaped silver piece at the back and alternate rows of beads, and silver buttons over the crown. Strings of hollow silver balls, coins, and beads hang down to the shoulders.

The back of the woman's jacket is decorated with superb applique patterns in red and other colors, outlined with couched thread of a contrasting color. Diamond, triangular, and other shapes of applique alternate with bright-colored embroidery. White shirt buttons, silver buttons, seeds, beads, shells, and tassels are added. Other articles of her clothing are similarly decorated. For full-dress occasions a belt encrusted with cowrie shells and Job's-tear seeds is worn over the jacket, those of unmarried young women being wide with many shells. Girls's caps are ornamented with silver, feathers, tassels, job's-tear seeds, gibbon fur, and beads.

The waist-length jackets worn by men and boys have vents at the lower edge on both sides and in the back, and are similarly embellished. Some have a rectangular chest piece bordered with strips of red cloth and closed with a silver buckle.

Clothing of Akha II

U Lo-Akha Style: The woman's headdress has two main parts. The base is a wide head band decorated with silver coins, silver buttons, and beads. Above it perches a high conical-shaped framework of bamboo covered with indigo cloth. This is embellished with silver ornaments and chains, coins, beads, red-dyed feather tassels, gibbon fur, seeds, pompons, and unique items that might catch a woman's fancy, such as small, round mirrors. The amounts and types of ornamentation vary according to marital and economic status, age and how recently the

woman has had a baby.
Embroidery consists mostly of a simple running stitch a satin stitch in bright colors. Strips of colored cloth, seeds, silver buttons and coins are also used. Men's jackets reach to just below the waist, and have embroidery on the back, and a few lines along the base in front.

Cloth and Ornamentation Of Akha

The knee-length skirt hangs very low on the woman's hips. It is straight across the front and heavily pleated in the back. The halter is a piece of cloth wrapped around the breasts and tied or buttoned at the side. A single string or strap attached to the back on one side goes over the opposite shoulder and loops over a button in front. The width and the embellishment of the halter vary with the style. The U Lo and Loimi styles have a bare midriff between halter and skirt.

The sash is tied around the waist under the jacket, with the ends hanging in front. Being heavily weighted with buttons, coins, and beads, it falls between the woman's legs when she squats or sits, protecting her modesty. Leggings are made by sewing indigo cloth into tubes and decorating them in the appropriate style.
Girls dress similarly to women, except they wear snug-fitting caps, which become more elaborately ornamented as the girls grow older. Pre-adolescent girls do not wear halters or sashes.

Adolescent girls gradually change from the type of clothing worn by a child to that of a woman. This is done during times of ceremonies in four stages: (1) Wearing a halter (2) Adding Job's-tear seed, red and white beads, and silver to her cap (3) Wearing a sash (4) Changing to and adult-style headdress. Tiny gourds at the waist and on the headdress indicate the young woman is not yet married.

The Akha man's jacket varies in style and ornamentation, using the same needlework techniques as the woman's. The Chinese-style pants are free of embellishment. On occasion some men wear black turbans, which are wound neatly and firmly so that they can be put on like a hat. Some older men wear red or pink silk turbans for special occasions. Boys wear similar clothing, except for a close-fitting cap. All Akha carry shoulder bags, decorated according to their particular style.

Clothing of Akha

The well-dressed Akha woman looks stunning from the tie of the elaborate headdress to her ornate leggings. The Akha man's clothing is not so elaborate, but there is a certain smartness in the cut of his jacket an the tilt of his turban. The basic material used in Akha clothing is a firmly woven homespun cotton cloth, Akha grew all of the cotton used for their clothing, but now some purchase raw cotton from the Thai. They make it into tufts about 20 cm long, which they carry in a decorated bamboo section or a basket which is tied to the woman's waist. She attaches a tuft to the hook of her wooden spindle which she rolls at high speed on her thigh. When the spindle is released the cotton spin thread. Girls are taught to spin when they are six or seven years old, for the mother alone cannot make sufficient thread to cloth the entire family. Women and girls spin thread constantly-while walking to the field, carrying wood and water, sitting by the fireside in the evening, and during every other available moment. Akha girls like to have contests to see who can produce the most spindles of thread in a day.

The thread is woven into firm cloth 17 to 20 cm wide, using a foot-treadle loom. The cloth is then dyed with indigo which is grown in Akha gardens. It takes about a month of dipping and drying the cloth daily to produce the deep color typical of their clothing. [See Campbell et al 1978:140 for the process of preparing indigo dye.]

Akha in Thailand have three basic styles of dress. The first, 'U Lo-Akha' (Pointed-headdress) is worn by most of the Akha who have been domiciled in Thailand for many years. Their attire resembles that of the A Jaw Akha in Burma. The second style, 'Loimi-Akha', is named after a large mountain in Burma from which many of them have come, and includes most of those who have migrated recently from Burma. The Akha often call them 'U Bya' (Flat-headdress). The third style is commonly called 'Phami_Akha', named after a village near the border town of Mae Sai. This type is worn primarily by the Mawn Po clan in Thailand, Burma, and China.

The basic costume of an Akha woman consists of : a headdress, a jacket worn over a halter-like garment, a short skirt, a sash, a with decorated ends, and leggings. The hip-length jacket is made of two strips of cloth about 20 cm wide, with seams down the back and sides. The wrist-length sleeves are straight, with no tapering or rounding where they are set into the body of the jacket. The front is plain, except for a strip of colored binding around the back of the neck and down to mid-chest. The back of the jecket. The front is plain, except for a strip of colored binding around the back of the neck and down to mid-chest. The back of the jacket and the sleeves are embellished according to the three basic styles. Sometimes a plain white under-jacket is worn for insulation and to keep the wearer's skin from getting blue from the indigo dye.

AKHA (KAW)

The Akha call themselves A-Kha whereas the Thai people refer to them as Kaw or E-kaw. They are historically linked with the ancient Lolo tribes that inhabit Southh Yunnan. The Akha belong to the Tibeto-Burman branch of the Sino-Tibetan linguistic family.

It is generally believed that the Akha originated in the Tibetan Highlands. Over the years they left their homeland and migrated south to Yunnan, North Burma, Laos, and North Thailand. It is not known when the first Akha settlement was established on Thai soil, but it is thought that this took place in the 1800's.

Most of the Akha in Thailand prefer to live along mountain ridges at an altitude of approximately 1,000 m. In the past, their settlements were limited mainly to the north bank of the Mae Kok river, and they rarely moved south. In more recent times, as a result of population pressure, the Akha began to spread out of the Mae Kok basin in search of better land. Today, Akha are found in six provinces : Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Tak, Kamphang Phet, Lampang and Phrae. Due to the lack of data, the exact number of Akha living in Thailand is not known. However the 1995 statistics indicate that the population is in excess of 48,468 spread over 258 village. Newcomers from Burma are constantly arriving.

The salient social unit is the extended family. Patrilineal clans mediate all relationships concerning kinship ties, marriage, residential patterns, and rights of succession. The Akha are customarily monogamous. In practice, however, there is no rule which prohibits an Akha man from having more than one wife. After marriage, Akha men live patrilocally.


The Akha are shifting cultivators. They cultivate dry rice for consumption and grow corn, millet, peppers, beans, garlic, sesame and other varieties of vegetables as additional subsistence crops crop production is often inadequate fowl, pigs and water buffaloes are also raised by the Akha for special feasts and sacrifices.

The Akha are pantheists who place special emphasis upon ancestor-worship and spirit offerings. The four day Swinging. Ceremony, the most enjoyable ceremonial event, is held during mid-August to mid-September. The Akha celebrate their New Year in December for four days. Those who want to draw the Akha into closer affiliation with lowland civilization often see their complex rituals as being a major obstacle to modernization. Akha society is under extreme pressure to change and partly as a consequence of this, the incidence of opium addiction is high.