Palong Hilltribe

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 (Burma). In general, the Palong can be found in Burma's eastern Shan state. At present the population is about 60000. 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, and Tea. Besides tea, the they also grow rice, beans, yams, sugar cane, hemp, chillis and other crops. Both men and women decorate their teeth with gold. They [men and women] smoke tobacco and chew betel nuts.

Both men and women decorate their teeth with gold. The Palong 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.

We highly recommend this excellent on the Palong, their culture, their history, their migration to and settlement in Thailand: 'The Palaung in Northern Thailand'. It is written by Michael C.Howard and Wattana Wattanapun and published by Silkworm Books in Chiang Mai (ISBN 974-88325-1-1).