Hill tribes regale audiences with two-day cultural fest in Chiang Rai

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Hill tribes regale audiences with two-day cultural fest

By Prasert Thepsri 
The Nation

 

Photo By Prasert Thepsri

 

People from six hill tribes staged a two-day festival this weekend in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sarong district.

 

The festival attracted a huge number of tourists. 

 

The festival, which began on Saturday, featured hill tribe costumes, shows, and various activities about their daily life and culture. 

 

Among the highlights was the Swing Ceremony. The Akha people usually stage this ritual to show their gratitude to the Goddess of Abundance and pray for good yields. The ceremony was also accompanied by celebrations and dancing. 

 

Tourists could also buy tribal products from locals. 

 

Hill tribe people from as many 26 villages took part in the event.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30354060

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-09-10

[George Bowman]

I attended one of these events many years ago (2003?) quite by accident. We were travelling somewhere in northern Thailand and just happened to see a large group of people in a valley and decided to pull in and see what was going on. 

 

The men were playing a spinning top game. Basically, the top that spun the longest won. The player would throw his top like a softball and then rush to where the top was spinning. They would even blow dust out of the way of the top to keep it spinning.

 

Look closely and you can see the top in mid-flight unwinding from a red string. Lousy pic, but this was my first Nikon digital point and shoot camera that I had bought in Bangkok. It only cost B14,000...

[Burma Bill]

Great fun and enjoyment - thank you Hill Tribe People from a northern "farang".

 

[krobert6]

Go back every couple of years  - busier each year