Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
loincloths are decorated with rows of tiny lead beads, fashioned from the munitions junk that
litters the region.
The Alak and the Katu
The
Alak
and
Katu
have of late been brought to the attention of outsiders by Lao tour agen-
cies who are eager to cash in on the tribal custom of sacrificing water buffalo, in a ceremony
reminiscent of the final scene in the film
Apocalypse Now
. The Katu are said to be a very
warlike people and, as recently as the 1950s, carried out human sacrifices to placate spirits
and ensure a good harvest. The ethnic Lao firmly believe that these southern Mon-Khmer
groups are adept at black magic, and advise visitors to keep a cake of fragrant soap on their
person to foil the sorcery of tribal witchdoctors.
The hill tribes
The
Lao Soung
(literally, the “high Lao”) are comparative newcomers to Laos, having mi-
grated from China at the beginning of the nineteenth century and settled on the only land
available to them, at elevations over 1000m above sea level. Among them are the country's
most colourfully dressed ethnic groups, including the Hmong, Mien, Lahu and Akha. For
many visitors, the opportunity to visit a hill-tribe village is the highlight of a trip to Laos. Des-
pite the prevalence of Western clothing these days, most villages appear not to have changed
for centuries.
The Hmong
Most numerous among the Lao Soung are the
Hmong
, their clothing some of the most col-
ourful to be found in Laos. The ethnic group (within which a number of sub-groups, known
by the colour of their clothes, ie Red Hmong and Black Hmong) are particularly known for
their silver; Hmong babies receive their first silver necklace at the age of one month, and
by the time they are adults they will have several kilos of silver jewellery, most of which is
cached until special occasions such as Hmong New Year. Interestingly, their written language
uses Roman letters - though it's hardly surprising considering it was devised by Western mis-
sionaries.
As many Hmong fought on the side of the Royal Lao Government during the war, the tribe
has been persecuted since the Revolution; pogroms caused many to flee for refugee camps in
Thailand, from where some three hundred thousand were able to make their way to the US.
The 2009
deportation
of thousands of Hmong from Thailand back to Laos received interna-
tional criticism. Within Laos, Hmong use of slash-and-burn agriculture has given the govern-
ment an excuse to resettle them at lower elevations. Tight controls on the media mean that
unrest among the Hmong and Lao military drives against them are rarely reported.
