Karen
The Karen form by far the largest hilltribe group in Thailand (pop. 350,000), and began to arrive here from Burma and China in the seventeenth century. Most of them live in a broad tract of land west of Chiang Mai, which stretches along the border from Mae Hong Son province all the way down to Kanchanaburi. Karen do not live in extended family groups, so their wooden stilt houses are small. Unmarried Karen women wear loose white or undyed V-necked shift dresses, often decorated with grass seeds at the seams; some subgroups decorate them more elaborately, Sgaw girls with a woven red or pink band above the waist, and Pwo girls with woven red patterns at the hem. Married women wear blouses and skirts in bold red or blue. Men wear blue, baggy trousers, also with red or blue shirts.

Hmong
The Hmong (or Meo; pop. 111,000) originated in central China or Mongolia and are now found widely in northern Thailand; they are still the most widespread minority group in south China. There are two subgroups: the Blue Hmong, who live to the west of Chiang Mai; and the White Hmong, who are found to the east. A separate group of White Hmong live in refugee camps along the border with Laos. Hmong villages are usually built at high altitudes, and most Hmong live in extended families in traditional houses with dirt floors and a roof descending almost to ground level. Blue Hmong women wear intricately embroidered pleated skirts decorated with parallel horizontal bands of red, pink, blue and white; their jackets are of black satin, with wide orange and yellow embroidered cuffs and lapels. White Hmong women wear black baggy trousers and simple jackets with blue cuffs. Men of both groups generally wear baggy black pants with colourful sashes and embroidered jackets. All the Hmong are famous for their chunky silver jewellery.

Lahu
The Lahu (pop. 82,000) originated in the Tibetan highlands and centuries ago migrated to southern China, Burma and Laos; only since the end of the nineteenth century did they begin to come into Thailand from northern Burma. Their settlements are concentrated close to the Burmese border, in Chiang Rai, northern Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son provinces. The Lahu language has become the lingua franca of the hilltribes, since the Lahu often hire out their labour. About one-third of Lahu have been converted to Christianity (through exposure in colonial Burma), and many have abandoned their traditional way of life as a result. The remaining animist Lahu believe in a village guardian spirit, who is often worshipped at a central temple that is surrounded by banners and streamers of white and yellow flags. Ordinary houses are built on high stilts and thatched with grass. Some Lahu women wear a distinctive black cloak with diagonal white stripes, decorated in bold red and yellow at the top of the sleeve, but many groups now wear Thai dress. The tribe is famous for its richly embroidered shoulder bags.

Akha
The poorest of the hilltribes, the Akha (pop. 50,000) migrated from Tibet over two thousand years ago to Yunnan in China, where many still live. From around 1910, the tribe began to settle in Thailand and are now found in Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Lampang and Phrae provinces. Every Akha village is entered through ceremonial gates decorated with carvings of human activities and attributes - even cars and aeroplanes - to indicate to the spirit world that beyond here only humans should pass. To touch any of these carvings, or to disrespect them, is punishable by fines or sacrifices. Akha houses are recognizable by their low stilts and steeply pitched roofs. Women wear elaborate headgear consisting of a conical wedge of white beads interspersed with silver coins, topped with plumes of red taffeta and framed by dangling silver balls. They also sport decorated tube-shaped ankle-to-knee leggings, an above-the-knee black skirt with a white beaded centrepiece, and a loose-fitting black jacket with heavily embroidered cuffs and lapels.

Mien
The Mien (or Yao; pop. 42,000) consider themselves the aristocrats of the hilltribes. Originating in central China, they began migrating more than two thousand years ago southwards to southern China, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. They are now widely scattered throughout the north, especially around Nan, Phayao and Chiang Rai. They are the only people to have a written language, and a codified religion based on medieval Chinese Taoism, although in recent years many have converted to Christianity and Buddhism. Mien women wear long black jackets with lapels of bright scarlet wool, and heavily embroidered loose trousers and turbans. Babies wear embroidered caps with red or pink pom-poms.

Lisu
The Lisu (pop. 25,000), who originated in eastern Tibet, first arrived in Thailand in 1921 and are found mostly in the west, particularly between Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son. They are organized into patriarchal clans which have authority over many villages, and their strong sense of clan rivalry often results in public violence. The Lisu live in extended families at moderate to high altitudes, in bamboo houses built on the ground. The women wear a blue or green parti-coloured knee-length tunic, split up the sides to the waist, with a wide black belt and blue or green pants. Men wear green, pink or yellow baggy pants and a blue jacket.

Lawa
The Lawa people (pop. 17,000) have inhabited Thailand since at least the eighth century and they were certainly here when the first Thais arrived eight hundred years ago. As a result, most Lawa villages look no different from Thai settlements and most Lawa speak Thai as their first language. But between Hot, Mae Sariang and Mae Hong Son, the Lawa still live a largely traditional life. Unmarried Lawa women wear strings of orange and yellow beads, white blouses edged with pink, and tight skirts in parallel bands of blue, black, yellow and pink. After marriage, they don a long fawn dress, but still wear the beads. All the women wear their hair tied in a turban, and some men wear light-coloured baggy pants and tunics.