Though the six main tribes represented in this website are the largest in Thailand, there are many other smaller minority groups, mostly of Mon-Khmer linguistic stock, scattered throughout the country. Below is information about a few of these tribes:

Kui, Kuoy, or Suay

Kui were originally located in the northern region of the city of Kampongtohm, in Cambodia. The Kui were once a free nation. In the year 523 B.C. they sent ambassadors to trade and sell in Ayuttaya (Thailand). The Kui once helped the Cambodian king to squash a rebellion. In nice form, Cambodia later rewarded them sacrifices by using its military might to conquer the Kui and seize the Kui's land as their own, making it a part of Cambodia. The Kui prefer to migrate perpetually in search of better land to farm. The Kui migrated north to the city of Attabeu Saenpang Jampasak and Sarawan in southern Laos. They then crossed the Mekong river into Essan (Northeastern Thailand) at the Sapeu islet in the Amphur of Kong Jiem.

Following the move to Essan, the descendants of those first Kui migrants began spreading out and establishing their own households. This wave of Kui migrants occurred between 1702-1783 A.D., towards the end of the Ayuttaya period. The Thais refer to the Kui as "Khamane Pa Dong," whereas they refer to themselves as "Kui," "Koy," or "Kuoy," which means "person." At present the Kui can be found in the provinces of Buriram, Ubon Ratchathani, Nakorn Sri Thammarat, Mahasarakham, Surin, Sri Saket, and Suphanburi.

The Kui's religious tradition is an interesting mix of Buddhism and spirit worship. In a traditional Kui village there is both a wat (Buddhist Temple) and a spirit shrine present. Genies, monsters, and ghosts (of the mountains, of the forest, of the pathways, etc.), are among the many different types of spirits worshipped. Each village, it is believed, has its own spirit. The Kui believe that pain and sickness arise from the actions of the spirits and so they take extra special care to do whatever is necessary to appease the spirits. Traditionally, an elder woman serves as the spirit doctor, taking care of these patients. There is a special type of dance known as maw, which must be performed as an act of supplication to impress and appease the spirits. Before the maw dance can be done, however, the participants must perform a special ceremony in reverence to their teachers.

The Kui have a long tradition of raising elephants, passed on from generation to generation. The elephants which the Kui raise come from deep in the forest. They use a sort of round-up method known as "pone chaang" to capture the elephants. There is an elephant "doctor" who uses a lasso ("cheuak bpa gaam") made from water buffalo leather. The lasso is considered a very sacred object, enchanted and possessed by the spirits of the Kui's ancestors. To catch the elephant using the lasso, the elephant trainer simply slips the enchanted object around the elephant's foot and then quickly ties the other end to a tree. Once the elephant has been tied down it is ready to begin its training, preparing it for work.

Traditional Kui dress, for an older woman, consists of a patterned skirt and an open-collared shirt. Silver-beaded jewerly is worn around the neck. Beautiful scented flowers tucked behind the ears is quite the fad. Traditionally, the Kui weave their own fabric. One type of fabric, known as "jik-ga-noi," looks and feels similar to a squirrel's tail and is of one universal color. As for the Kui men, they generally only dress up for important ceremonies. Their dress consists of a sarong, folded into a pleat in front. Weaving is done in a seated position, legs stretched out straight in front, pulling the loom back and forth over the lap. The base color for women's fabrics is brown, with a clear border and red thread interwoven. At the bottom edge is a black border with white, yellow and red stripes running down it. Ja ga-wee fabric is similar to the Khmer anlusim, with a vertical pattern. This type of fabric would be worn by women at special occasions.

Indicative of the confusion surrounding many tribal names, the Khamu and ethnic Lao of northern Laos refer to the Lahu of that area as "Kui" or "Gui", though they are clearly part of the Lahu tribe descendant from Tibet, not part of the Kui ethnicity from Cambodia.

Lua

About 1,300 years ago, before the Mon brought civilization to the Ping river-basin, the ancestors of the Lua had already established their homeland. The Lua, or "La-wee-ah," as they refer to themselves, are part of the Austronesian family. It is uncertain where the Lua originated from, but it is generally believed that they emigrated from the southern regions of Thailand or from Cambodia.

Similarities in language, body structure, and dress have led to the belief that about 2,000 years ago the Lua were part of the same ethnic group as the Wa located in the northern region of Myanmar (Burma) and Southern Yunnan (China).

The Lua migrated into Thailand and settled in Chiang Mai. Approximately 900 years ago Mon from Lopburi--whom established the kingdom of Lamphun and Lampang (Thailand)--attacked the Lua, forcing them to retreat into the mountains. The Lua became a hill-dwelling people from that point on.

Later, in the 13th century AD. the Thai migrated into this region and defeated the ruling Mon and established friendly relations with the Lua. The Lua believe their ancestors once resided in Chiang Mai and built Wat Jedi Luang before the Thais emigrated to this region. The Lua had their own royal lineage of which the final king was Khun Luang Wilang Ga. When Queen Jamtaywee of the Mon kingdom of Nakorn Mon Rik Punyachai (Lamphun, Thailand) attacked the Lua and chased them into the hills, a few small groups of Lua managed to remain behind in the lowlands, though these peoples almost completely assimilated to follow Thai culture, customs and traditions, leaving little trace of their own rich and distinct native heritage.

The Lua language is part of the Austro-Asiatic family of languages and has been influenced from Mon and Khmer. There are many different language groups among the Lua, but they can be generally separated into two large groups: the Wawu--spoken amongst Lua in the Ping River Basin region, such as Baw Luang village--and the Ang ga--spoken in the West of Mae Sariang District in the province of Mae Hong Son, Thailand. Differences in language follow in accordance to the distance between villages from one another. There is enough similarity that Lua from different villages can understand one another. Many words from the Northern Thai dialect have also been adopted into the Lua language.

The Lua have spread themselves out over six different provinces within Thailand: Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son, Uthai Thani, Suphanburi, Chiang Rai, and Lampang.

Presently, most Lua villages remain in remote mountain regions, far away from their Thai neighbors. A given village is made up of around 20-100 households all built in a line along the ridge of the mountain. The house will be lifted high off the ground, similar to a Karen house, but the roof will differ. A Lua roof will include two long pieces of carved wood crossed over one another at the gable. The roof itself will be made of thatch or old banana leaves and will run down almost all the way to the ground. Tha area surrounding the village is used for gardening. The land used for farming will be separated from the village by a line of old-growth forest, which is used to protect the village from burning down when the fields are set ablaze.

The Lua are a monogamous people; a husband with multiple wives is not permitted. After marriage, the woman must go to live with the man. Respect and remembrance is paid to the ancestral spirits on the father's side of the family. Children are counted as being part of their father's family lineage. More similar to the nuclear families of today's western societies, Lua households are generally made up of husband, wife and children. The oldest male in the family must go off and build a new home for himself and his wife when he gets married. The last male child to be born will receive the family inheritance, but also be expected to take care of his parents for the rest of their lives.

H'tin

The H'tin, like the Mon and Khmer, are part of the Austro-Asiatic language group. The H'tin can be broken down into two sub-groups: The K'maal or Maal, and the Klaam-Brite or Brite. These two groups have distinct differences in language, customs, cultures, and traditions. In terms of location and dress, however, the two groups are quite similar. Around 60-80 years ago, The H'tin left Chaiyaburi district in Laos and emigrated into Thailand to start a new life. They settled in the Northeastern portion of Nan province, as well as parts of Petchaboon, and Loei.

The H'tin tend to build their homes on mountaintops, at an elevation of around 1,000-3,000 meters above sea level. The villages are built on flat portions of the mountain, not far from a stable source of water. H'tin villages average around 50 families in size, with villagers building their homes in clusters according to family lines. This custom may have come from the way in which food is gathered and the general environment. H'tin houses are raised off the ground. The floor and walls are made from bamboo. Underneath the long sloping roof one will find a giant mortar and pestle for milling rice, and a storage area for firewood and other miscellaneous objects. H'tin houses have two doors, but no windows. There is a large front porch, covered completely by the roof. The area beneath the house is used as an animal pen.

H'tin households can be large or small depending on the number of daughters one has. This is because, according to H'tin custom, when one of the daughters in the household gets married, she will bring her husband home to live with the family. Thus, the more daughters one has the larger one's household is likely to be. The eldest daughter can move out as she pleases and start a new household. The youngest daughter, however, must remain with her parents for the rest of their lives. For this reason, the H'tin prefer daughters to sons, since when the men marry they leave their homes to help out their wife's family, leaving their own families short-handed.

H'tins are matrilineal and worship their maternal ancestors. After marriage a man must cut all ties to his mother's ancestors and establish new ones with those of his wife, thus many villages will have not more than three family lines. H'tin of the same family line will build their homes clustered together with each family line representing at least three to five homes within the village. Each family line within each village worships different ancestors. As for names, it is impossible to determine who is related to whom since in a given village there is generally only one last name, shared by all. If someone in a village has a last name differing from others in the same village it is likely they are a recent immigrant. In order to determine family ties, it is necessary to study which ancestors each person worships.

As the H'tin produce all their own food, farming is thus an essential part of life. Rice production is particularly so, as the harvest will be used to feed the family for the entire year. Accordingly, the H'tin have many ceremonies to pay homage to the spirits to ensure plentiful harvests. To generate cash income, the H'tin rely on hunting wild animals--or catching them and selling them for pets. Gathering items from the forest (e.g. bamboo shoots, wild herbs, berries, etc.) is another common source of hard currency. Aside from planting unirrigated mountain field rice, which every villager plants, some H'tin have begun planting paddy rice, which relies on a flat plot of land that can be flooded. Corn, millet, and various vegetables are also common. Some villages gather wild tea from the forests and sell it in the city. Other villages, such as the ones in the sub-districts of Bor Gleua Neua and Bor Gleua Tai (remote Nan province, Thailand), harvest salt from natural salt "wells" for sale to people in the surrounding villages. The H'tin also have special artistry in weaving mats. The unique characteristic of their mats is the use of banana leaves and a local variety of grass, woven together, to form beautiful patterns. The H'tin raise chickens and pigs for use in various ceremonies, and the offspring can also be sold for a profit. Dogs are raised for guarding the house while the villagers are away in the fields, as well as for use in hunting. Cows and water buffaloes are raised to sell to lowland Thais or for use in plowing the fields.

Most H'tin can speak the northern Thai dialect and, these days, dress themselves in the same fashion as their Thai neighbors. H'tin traditional clothing is rare. If you're interested in doing a "homestay" at a H'tin home, be prepared to sleep outdoors as guests are not permitted to sleep in the house. Also, during the performance of certain rituals, the house is off-limits to strangers. Unless you know the owners of the house, do not take your own food with you for eating or preparing in their kitchen. When a new house is being built, the H'tin must track down a man named "Gaew" and a woman named "Khaam" to participate in the house-raising ceremony. "Gaew" carries rice and "Khaam" carries a rice-steaming pot as they lead the procession into the new house. The owners of the house then follow them in. Wearing shoes in the house is prohibited. In the event one forgets, it is considered a violation of "spirit" or good will, and the host may demand a bottle of alcohol or a whole chicken as compensation for losses. When eating, if you're not yet full, do not get up from your place, as the host will immediately start clearing the food. The H'tin enjoy drinking rice whiskey. It is the drink of choice for use in receiving guests.