Lisu Tribe Of Thailand

Lisu are one of the tribal groups living in Thailand and there are approximately 27,900 Lisu living in 135 villages of North Thailand. The Lisu tribe originated in China and moved to Thailand sometime in the 20th century. They grow rice and vegetables.

Earlier they used to grow opium poppy but after a government initiative, the Lisu have started selling handcrafted items to the villages in the vicinity. The villages they live in are located close the village market and so they always make money by selling their wares.

Lisu live in bamboo houses. Each house has an ancestral altar. They are animists and strongly believe in spirits. They perform rituals and ceremonies to their ancestors, spirits of the forest, trees, sun, moon and everyday objects. They also believe in the village guardian spirits. Women are not allowed into the guardian spirit shrines. Despite the modern appearance of some villages with their electricity, televisions and concrete slab houses, the Lisu lead a very traditional live.

Their traditional dress is the most colorful when compared to other tribes. The Lisu women make clothes for their family. Clothes are mostly handmade and hand woven. Not only the life they lead is traditional, they also wear traditional costumes. The women wear brightly colored costumes, consisting of blue or green parti-colored knee length tunics with a wide black belt and blue or green pants. Sleeves, shoulders and cuffs are heavily embroidered with narrow, horizontal bands of blue, red and yellow. They wear large amounts of hand-crafted silver ornaments for festive occasions. The Lisu men produce crossbows, musical instruments, bird and animal traps to supplement their income.