Customs of the Lahu

The social organization of the Lahu bases it is the village or "ka", that is simultaneously a political and military unit, with a chief or kaxie that it distributes the hunting, organizes the common matters, and represents to the village before the exterior. In the rest rest of people are equal to, since in the traditional society lahu the equality was reigning, without existing either rich or poor between them. The possession and the work of the ground was together. With the establishment of the system of the Tusi or local leaders between them, the kaxie turn into intermediaries between the Tusi and the common people, a chain being created since then descendant of local chiefs of the proper Lahu.

His villages generally are on top of the mountains surrounded by a fence that is repaired every year, with three doors. With a mountain of the gods behind the village and a forest prohibited around. The village is called according to the one that constructs it, the chief or the place.

They live in simple houses, of wood with roof of grasses, with 1 ó 2 apartments. The people arrive and below implements and animals. All the men can do houses and when someone wants to do it, meet and do it in one day, and the proprietor invites them to eat. You usually have three quarters: entry, bedroom and store, with an altar for the spirits.

They realize agriculture of groove and fire, with periodic rotation of his breeding grounds.

The hunting is an important activity for them, especially in January and the festive ones, when they salt tens men in expeditions that last several days. Everything is distributed equally (including the strangers), giving only a little more to the elders. The respect is evident the elders not only at the time of distributing the hunting, but also on having drunk wine, or tea, when one shows them a special respect: the glass is offered them with two hands, it is allowed them to travel ahead, eat first, one listens to them.

Earlier every family was planting his cotton, was weaving and sewing his clothes, and was dying it. The color that more they like is the black. The Lagu shave the head, although the women leave a called tuft to themselves: "hair of the soul". The men not. The young people now leaves long hair to themselves, and only it is shaved after marrying. You usually take big earrings of silver, necklaces and bracelets. All the men take a special hairdo, a very original cap of three tops, also they take other black turbans.

Meal: they like very much the roasts, that they turn between two bamboo sticks. Earlier they were depending more of the compilation, now the basic thing there is the rice, which they complement with wild vegetables.

They drink the roast tea, and the first baby the host to demonstrate that it has no poison. They like the wine and the tobacco.

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