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Lawa

The Hill tribe known as the Lawa or Lavu’a (La-woe-a), to each other, and the Lua to the Northern Thai are only found in Thailand.  They number approximately 17,000 in population, and are believed to be one of the oldest groups in Thailand.

There is a little bit of debate amongst archaeologists as to the origin of the Lawa people.  Many archaeologists theorize that they arrived in Thailand from Cambodia.  Many other archaeologists, on the other hand believe that they came from Micronesia around 2000 years ago.  The Lawa have a long history and some confusing historical data, which makes it somewhat difficult to pinpoint exactly where they originated from.

It is widely believed however that they were possible the first settlers to Thailand, sometime in the 5^th century BC.  They also seem to be an Austro-Asiatic people. Their linguistic history is related to the Monkhmer, but for the most part the Lawa have assimilated into Thai language and culture with ease.  There are still a few villages that speak traditional Lawa tongue, and live a very traditional existence, but they are the exception more than the rule.

Aside from the fact that they may have been in Thailand, even before the Thai, they are also widely accepted into Thai society due in part to the legendary King Megrai’s heritage.  It is likely that King Megrai who is famous for unifying Northern Thailand, may have also been half Lawa.

Although many of the Lawa have disappeared unnoticeably into Thai society, there are small groups who still live separately along s 500 kilometer stretch of the Bo Luang Plateau and the mountainous area of Umpai.  Even in these traditional villages, however, many residents have traditionally Thai style houses and have incorporated Buddhism into their traditional religious beliefs.

Although many have adapted their lifestyles to that of a Buddhist, they are generally animists by tradition, and ancestor worshippers.  Many of the Lawa have found ways to adapt their own religious beliefs to that of Buddhism.  Buddhism lends itself well to this, as it sometimes considered more of a philosophy than a religion.  As for traditional animists, they tend to have very nature-oriented religious beliefs.  Animists believe that every living thing on Earth possess a soul, including animals and plants. Animists are for the most part, descendents of ancient earth based religions.  It is likely that most all cultures were at one point, animists.  This is still a very popular religion among indigenous groups of people all over the world, as well as some non-indigenous groups.

The marital style of the Lawa is monogamous, which is pretty traditional in this part of the world.  They are also traditional in the sense that their descent is traced matrilineal.

Traditional lawa women dress differently to show marital status.  Young, unmarried girls wear white blouses with pink trim.  They also wear a traditional skirt that is made of blue, yellow, and pink parallel bands.  They also wear strings of yellow and orange beads.

Once a Lawa girl gets married, she will begin to wear her hair in a turban.  The skirt and blouse of maidenhood is replaced with a long fawn dress. All women in the Lawa tribe wear the yellow and orange beads regardless of marital status.  You will often see Lawa women smoking tobacco from a pipe.

The economy of the Lawa is primarily based on agriculture such as rice.  They use an innovative process of terraces rotation systems to produce their crops.  This technology makes them fairly successful at cultivation.

Most Lawa people are Lua, or common people.  There are some Lawa that can be traced back to Khun Luang Wilanka, these Lawa people are known as Kun.