Window on Southeast Asia:
Listening to the Rice Grow: A Journey Up the Nam Ou River in Laos
continued
When I say that the southeast Asian people are "Indianized" I don't mean that they are exactly like the Indians. Much has changed since the days when Indian traders and missionaries brought their way of life and religion with them. As I have pointed out, the Thais don't have a caste system and neither do the Lao or other groups. But they are clearly affected by it as evidenced by the advanced system of class, status and the endless rituals, rules, and taboos associated with it. The Akha have none of this. There is no God-king, no divine right to rule. The chief is elected every four years, not appointed by any god. (Yes, they elected their chiefs to four-year terms well before they ever heard of the Unite States. There are no rituals associated with the chief and no one sees him as anything other than a human with good decision-making skills. If they change their mind, they can elect someone else. Watching people interact it was clear that they are more direct with each other and are not too concerned with ideas of status. I'm sure there are forms of status in Akha society, but they seem to mean far less than in Lao or Thai society.
Inside The Chief's House.
On the down side, we did see people arguing openly from time to time. No one was screaming, but quarrels did take place in the open, something that rarely happens in Thai or Lao society. We were shown to a loft above the chiefs house where we were to sleep. There was a woven ornament over the roof with strings of elaborately shaped stars radiating out from it for about 5 feet in all directions. I was told that it would keep ghosts away. On either side of the village was a "Gate," looking like a doorway without a door. These are not intended to allow people to enter, bur rather to keep spirits from entering. Only the spirits are allowed to enter, but are discouraged from doing so by ceremonial weapons placed around it along with other items that the Akha believe frighten them away. Humans are not allowed to pass through the gates. Doing so would anger the spirits, possibly to the point that they would ignore the weapons and enter the gates, causing trouble for everyone in the village. Neither Buddhism nor Hinduism has reached the Akha and their religion is based on Shamanism. Regrettably, the shaman was spending the night in the fields and no one was very open in talking about their religion. The only other hint of it was in a paper figure, about five feet high, hanging from a pole in the middle of the village. I was told that it was designed to ward off evil spirits. Three poles had been erected in the center of the village, the village swing. At the start of the harvest in September or October, everyone, dressed in their finest clothing, takes a turn on the swing during a four-day festival. The swing is left undisturbed until the next year, when the old one is destroyed and a new one built.
The Amulet Used for Keeping Away Ghosts.
As evening fell, more and more people, fantastically dressed, emerged from a trail that led to the village with heavy loads on their backs. Mr. Khamman explained that it was harvest season and they were bringing the rice to the village. At one point the children ran to the ridge at the edge of the village (from which there is yet another stunning view) and started yelling excitedly. There was a helicopter in the distance. A few children ran back to the village and soon everyone ran out to see this amazing sight. Our guide said that helicopters were pretty uncommon in the area. Well, it sure provided those people with plenty of excitement. Many of them seemed to be trying to yell something to it. So enthralled were they that I even got a few pictures of them! The rest of the time, whenever I took out my camera, they scattered. As had been the case in the lower villages, many of the younger women wore bras while the older women were often topless. All of them wore plenty of blue, had headdresses decorated with coins, and wore colorful sarongs. In the evening we went back to the chief's house and sat on a platform on the dirt floor while the women cooked dinner over an open fire.
