Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
own. Young Khmu men seem to be prone to wanderlust, often leaving their villages to seek
work in the lowlands. Their high rate of intermarriage with other groups during their forays
for employment has contributed to their assimilation.
The Htin and the Mabri
Another Mon-Khmer-speaking group which inhabits the north, particularly Sayaboury
province, are the Htin . They excel at fashioning household implements, particularly baskets
and fish traps, from bamboo (owing to a partial cultural ban on the use of any kind of metal),
and are known for their vast knowledge of the different species of bamboo and their respect-
ive uses.
Linguistically related to the Khmu and Htin are the Mabri , Laos's least numerous and least
developed minority. Thought to number less than one hundred, the Mabri have a taboo on
tilling the soil which has kept them semi-nomadic and impoverished. Half a century ago
they were nomadic hunter-gatherers who customarily moved camp as soon as the leaves on
the branches that comprised their temporary shelters began to turn yellow. Known to the
Lao as kha tawng leuang (“slaves of the yellow banana leaves”) or simply khon pa (“jungle
people”), the Mabri were thought by some to be naked savages or even ghosts, and wild tales
were circulated about their fantastic hunting skills and ability to vanish into the forest without
a trace. The Mabri were said to worship their long spears, making offerings and performing
dances for their weapons to bring luck with the hunt. Within the last few decades, however,
they have given up their nomadic lifestyle and many now work for other groups, often per-
forming menial tasks in exchange for food or clothing.
The Laven and the Gie-Trieng
The Bolaven Plateau in southern Laos is named for the Laven people, yet another
Mon-Khmer-speaking group whose presence predates that of the Lao. The Laven were very
quick to assimilate the ways of the southern Lao, so much so that a French expansionist and
amateur ethnologist who explored the plateau in the 1870s found it difficult to tell the two
apart. Besides the Laven, other Mon-Khmer-speaking minorities are found in the south, par-
ticularly in Savannakhet, Salavan and Xekong provinces. Among these are the Bru , who
have raised the level of building animal traps and snares to a fine art. The Bru have devised
traps to catch, and sometimes kill, everything from mice to elephants, including a booby-trap
that thrusts a spear into the victim.
The Gie-Trieng of Xekong are one of the most isolated of all the tribal peoples, having
been pushed deep into the bush by the rival Sedang tribe. The Gie-Trieng are expert basket
weavers and their tightly woven quivers, smoked a deep mahogany colour, are highly prized
by collectors. The Nge , also of Xekong, produce textiles bearing a legacy of the Ho Chi Minh
Trail that snaked through their territory and of American efforts to bomb it out of existen-
ce. Designs on woven shoulder bags feature stylized bombs and fighter planes, and men's
Search WWH ::




Custom Search