Ethnic minorities or Chiang Mai Hill Tribes

Northern Thailand is home to interesting and colorful ethnic minorities. They are also known as hill tribes although many people contest this nomenclature. The definition of a tribe is “a social division in a traditional society consisting of families or communities linked by social, economic, religious, or blood ties, with a common culture and dialect, typically having a recognized leader”.

In Thailand the term hill tribes has been used since Gordon Young published his book “The Hill Tribes of Northern Thailand: A Socio-ethnological Report” but the use of this term probably goes further back. They are fascinating people and very different from the Thai people. Each tribe has its own language, culture, traditional dress, and peculiarities. The Thai people call them “chao khao,” which means “people from the mountain.” At this moment, they probably number about one million people out of a population of almost 70 million. On this page, we give a concise introduction to the history and current situation of these tribal groups.