PALONG

Palong Woman, near Palong Village in Chiang Mai Province, Northern Thailand.

There are but a few Palong villages in Thailand, all of them in the northern part of Chiang Mai province along the border to Myanmar (formerly Burma), e.g. Fang, Chiang Dao and Doi Angkang. The roots of the Palong people go back to the nation of Myanmar (Burma) and they have come to northern Thailand since about 20 years ago. Some of the Palong villages are nice places to stay overnight on Trekking Tours around Chiang Dao including highlights like elephant riding and rafting or the Chiang Dao Caves. Some of the hotels there are as nice as hotels in San Francisco.

The Palong call themselves "Ta Ang" they are subdivided in two different groups, the Gold Palong (Shwe) and Silver Palong (Pale). The distinction of this two groups is mainly based on slight differences of their costumes.

In general, the Palongs can be found in Burma's eastern Shan state. At present the population is about 60'000.

They belong to the Mon-Khmer branch of the Austro-Asiatic linguistic family.

Their main livelihood is the cultivation of tanatep, a large leaf to wrap burmese cigars.

Both men and women decorate their teeth with gold. The Palong people dress very similarly to the Lahu, but their dress differs from other hilltribes in that they weave a bamboo belt around their waist.

The Palongs are easily recognized by the striking custom of their women, red sarong like garments, mostly a blue jacket with red collar and broad silver waistbands.

Formerly animist, most Palongs have converted to Buddhism. They Palong practice a Shan-type Buddhism mixed with elements of their former animism.

There is also a Palong village in the Fang district (Amphoe Fang, Chiangmai Province) that's less than 15 kms from the Burmese border.

Other Hilltribes in Northern Thailand:

• HMONG

• YAO

• KAREN

• LISU

• LAHU

• LAWA

• AKHA

• KHAMU

• THINS

• MLABRI

• PALONG