Muang Sing District is home many different ethnic groups such as Akha, Tai Lue, Tai Neua, Yao (Mien), Tai Dam, Phu Noi, Lao Therng, Lolo and Hmong, making it a remarkable repository of ethnic diversity and indigenous knowledge. The traditional dress, beliefs and rituaral heritage of Lao PDR.

Akha
The Akha originally settled in the Kuaichao and Yunan, which are today provinces of China. After moving down to the Southern part of Yunan, they later moved to Va and Xiengtung Districts of Borma and then to Lai Chao District of Vietnam. Only later did they settle in the mountainous in northern richness and mild weather throughout the year are other factors that attracted them to settle in those areas.

In Muang Sing Akha has population more than other ethnics groups in Muang Sing. Akha life is characterized by a ritual and ethical code which provides them with strict guidelines on show to live their lives this is sometimes called the "Akha Way" (Akha Zang). The "Akha Way" not only includes all their traditionals, ceremonies and customary law, but it also determines how they view and treat sickness and the manner in which they relate to one another and to outsiders. Akha have an amazing knowledge of the forest and rotational agriculture, with many villages still located high in the mountains. Akha women are easily recognizable by their distinctive costumes which consist of black cotton mini- skirts and black, tight fitting bodices covered by jackets decorated with embroidery and applique designs topped by an intricate head dress.

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Khamu
The Khamu arrived in northern Laos and Thailand in the early first millennium AD, making them one of the earliest inhabitants in the region. They settled in northern Laos even before the first Lao penetrated into the country's present territory. It is still a mystery from which direction the Khamu migrated into their present habitats.

When the Lao arrived in the area they pushed the Khamu out of the valleys into higher land. Since these early times the Lao used the term Kha or Kha Khamu , a pejorative expression meaning “slave” or “savage”. For many centuries the Khamu were the traditional slaves of the Lao.

With a population of more than half a million the Khamu are, next to the Lao majority, the largest single ethnic group in Laos.

There are several subgroups of Khamu , each with its own name and distinctive dialect. Apart from the Ksak subgroup in the southeast of Luang Prabang, which have almost completely given up their Khamu language and adopted the Lao language, the other subgroups are bilingual with many of the younger generation even literate in Lao.

Traditional Khamu villages can be found in low mountainous areas and forested valleys. The houses are build on low wooden stills, about 1 to 1,5 meters above the ground. The walls are made of bamboo mats without windows, the roof is covered with thatch. Traditional Khamu villages have a communal house, where young adolescent boys live and where men gather for important discussions or to work together on crafts. Nowadays many villages move closer to the lowland, giving up some of their traditional customs.

In the past the Khamu have only cultivated dry rice in swiddens , but have now also adopted wet glutinous rice cultivation from lowland Lao. They also grow maize, cassava, gourds, eggplants, peanuts and vegetables. Besides that the Khamu grow tobacco and brew whisky for self-consumption. They keep a few buffaloes, cattle and goats. Pigs and poultry are kept in larger numbers. Their economy is supplemented by hunting, fishing and gathering wild forest products. Squirrels and other small rodents are caught, delicacies which are sold alive in the markets or at the nearest road to passers-by.

The Khamu live in nuclear families with monogamy as the predominant form of marriage today, but polygamy used to be common among the wealthier Khamu men.

The Khamu believe in several spirits and every village has a guardian spirit. Spirit gates are erected over the entrance to Khamu villages and special houses are built to make sacrifices. The Khamu practice a form of ancestor worship. Every village has a shaman and several sorcerers. The Khamu follow the agrarian cycle and practice several ceremonies for a good harvest. They bury their deceased in the forest. To avoid any possibility that the soul of the dead returns to the village, the burial party proceeds in large circles on its way back to confuse the spirits.

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Tai Dam
The Tai have a long history similar to the other ethnic Lao group. The ancestors of these groups came from Bolikhamsay and Khammuan Province. This is a large group of people that consists of numerous subgroups, such as the Tai Dam, Tai Khao and Tai Deng. To day, there are over a dozen different Tai groups in Bolikhamsay Province.

Characterized by colorful head-scarves and tight-fitting shirts adorned with silver buttons, Tai Dam women are easily identified. The Tai Dam are believed to originate in northern Vietnam and to have begun migrating to the Namtha and Muang Sing in the late 19th century. Tai Dam differ from many other Tai groups in that they are not Buddhist, instead they practice a form of ancestor and spirit worship. They make a potent form of lao lao that is consumed socially and used for ritual purposes. Well-known producers of fine quality silk and cotton textiles, many local Tai Dam women export directly to markets in Japan and the USA.

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The Hmong
The Hmong are and ethnic group that has lived in the territory of Laos since the middle of the nineteenth century. This ethnic group migrated from the Tibetan region, passing through China and settling in the lower part of Maenam Leuang (Huang Ho or Yellow River). Due to war, they migrated and moved further down China entering Vietnam, Laos and Thailand.

The Hmong live at some of the highest in Luang Namtha and Muang Sing, Traditionally choosing a hill or ridge top for the location of their villages, although today there are a few villages located in the lowlands. Hmong people are known for their knowledge of the forest, herbal medicinces and expertise at raising animals, particularly horses. They are very industrious and trade a variety of forest products and agricultural goods. Their traditional dress is adorned with intricate embroidery and heavy silver jewelry. Hmong New Year is celebrated in December/January with numerous festivities including top-spinning competitions, trade fairs singing and the tossing of the Mak Kone (a small ball made of fabric) by young men women as part of a charming courting ritual.

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Yao
The Yao are an old and widely distributed ethnic group with dozens of subgroups. It is believed that the ancestors of the Yao lived in China 4000 years ago. The main subgroup and the one living in Muang Sing are the Mien. The migration of the Yao from their place of origin, China, has been caused by infertile land, but also by the expansion of the opium trade and the reprisals of the Chinese government against hill tribe peoples. After the people's revolution and the foundation of the Lao PDR in 1975 many Mien left the country for Thailand.

The Mien do not produce their own silk or cotton, but they are masters in the art of dyeing, embroidering and sewing their distinctive costumes. The men are skilled black- and silversmiths. They cultivate dry as well as wet rice, supplementing their diet with different kinds of secondary crops. The Yao in general are famous for cultivating opium poppies, but have been forced to give it up by the Lao government's opium eradication program.

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Tai Lue
The Lue probably originated in Kwangtung province of south-western China. They have the oldest recorded history of all the Tai groups according to which the first Lue king was crowned 1180 in Yunnam province of China. He ruled the kingdom of Sip Sawng Panna, of which Muang Sing was a part. In Muang Sing they arrived around 701 A.D with a population of nearly 120,000 the Lue form one of the largest ethnic groups in Laos, with their cultural center in Muang Sing District.

Lue village are well arranged and generally and clean. Their houses are built on poles and traditionally enclosed with bamboo mats and a thatched roof. Every Lue village has its own temple. Around Muang Sing the typical Lue temple has a gabled roof with two or three tiers, resulting in several elaborate eaves at different levels.

The Lue traditionally are monogamous, with polygamy for higher castes, until quite recently. They adopted Thervada Buddhism during the fourteenth century. Nevertheless they hold up their ancient belief in natural forces. like spirits of rivers, forests and mountains. The village spirit (Phi Muang) is highly worshiped and a spirit house is normally erected in every village and annual sacrifices performed. There are also 32 guardian spirits who are worshiped during a 96 period, meaning three days for every spirit.

Lue women wear narrow, long-sleeved jackets, loose blouses and ankle length phaa sins, which are blue, indigo to occasionally black, woven with numerous colorful designs at the base and along the hems, produces of various weaving techniques. Either the upper or lower part of the phaa sin is decorated with a variety of red, yellow, green stripes and designs. Thai Lue women make their phaa sins by cutting the cloth in half and weaving the warp vertically, Finally, Lue women wrap a piece of white or light colored cloth around their heads, the upper part open for the traditional hair-bun. There is, however, a great variation in colors and arrangements of the stripes on the phaa sins and jackets in the different localities and villages of the Lue.

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Tai Neua
The Tai Neua have lived in Laos for many centuries. They moved from the southern part of China and entered into Muang Sing, Luang Namtha Province, Lao PDR. First they had lived on Soye, Adth and Xieng Kho district in Hoaphan province. Then they moved to settle in the Ma River region of Phongsali and from Unan province (China) in to Namkeolung, Siliheung, pratoy village, Muang Sing District, Luang Namtha Province. Today, they also live in Vietnam and China.

Many are Buddhists, but still follow elements of their traditional animist religion. They believe in spirits, the most important being the spirit of the village, followed by the spirit of the house. The latter is the spirit of the person who first died after moving into the house. In Tai Neua villages there is still a sasana pam (shaman) who cures diseases and is supposed to shield the villagers against misfortunes. The Tai Neua brought scriptures from China, which they still use in their Buddhist ceremonies and often you can see paper rolls hanging from the roof of the temples.

Today, Tai Neua people do not wear their traditonal costumes any longer, but their elders still recall the design of the garments. According to them Tai Neua women wore a black Phaa Sin with a broad red band at the upper part and thin vertical red stripes on the body and lower part. Particular symbolic motifs were very important in Tai Neua textile design. Several of these symbols and anthropomorphic figures belonged to an era of spirit cults, tattooing and saerfices. Furthermore the traditional costume consisted of a narrow, long-sleeved bodice with two rows of silver clasps, shaoped like butterflies, down the front of the bodice, leaving half the back bare.

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Phunoi
The name Phunoi is originally a derogatory name meaning “minor people”, but the Phunoi themselves have different legends explaining the origin of their name. Information about the history of the Phunoi is rare, but it seems they originated in the Tibetan highlands.

Their settlements are usually located near streams in forested mountain areas. They do not plan the layout but build their houses irregularly within the village boundaries. Today the Phunoi settlements are permanent but in the past they had both a permanent and a temporary residential area, the temporary for the people whose swidden fields were too far from the village and who would therefore be leaving the village.

They cultivate both wet and dry rice and raise a variety of animals. Gathering and hunting still plays an important part, as well as collecting bamboo and wild vegetables in the forest.

Decisions in the village are taken by the naiban (a headman who governs the village according to the Lao administrative system), assisted by a council of elders or notables and the religious priest.

Today the Phunoi live in nuclear family units. The father is the head of the household. Phunoi men are monogamous, only very rich men can afford to have one or two minor wives. The bride price in Phunoi marriages is generally quite high, including old French Piasters, livestock and rice whiskey. Divorce is permissible in Phunoi society, as long as both agree and the family property is divided into three parts, one of them going to the wife. If the fault is considered on the wife's side, she loses all claims to all goods.

Most of the Phunoi still practice their traditional religion, a blend of animism and ancestor worship. They believe that their natural surroundings are controlled by supernatural beings and a spirit is associated with many features, natural and man-made. The spirits have to be placated with sacrifices to encourage them to bless the village. Especially during planting and harvest season sacrifices are held in honour of the village spirit.

Their deceased are washed, dressed in their best clothes and placed in a wooden coffin. Traditionally, grains of silver or gold, nowadays normally French Piasters are placed in the mouth of the deceased.


Lolo
The Lolo are the smallest minority in Muang Sing district, while they represent the largest ethnic nationality in Yunnan Province, south-western China, their original homeland.

As a result of the influence of their larger ethnic neighbours cultural practices of the Lolo vary greatly from location to location. In Laos this influence comes mainly from Tai Lue people. The language the Lolo speak in Laos can be considered as a mixture of the ancient Lolo language and Chinese. 

Their economy is based on agriculture and animal husbandry, they are famous for breeding goats, sheep and horses. Besides rice, Lolo grow fruit trees around their villages and are also known as long distance traders, using their horses to transport goods over the mountains.

Traditionally the Lolo have a patriarchal clan system with two castes, the Black Bones and the White Bones. The latter were bonded labours to the Black Bones. The Black Bones used to be the land owners, while the White Bones worked as peasants, not being allowed to own production tools, not even a single knife. During the last century the Lolo society underwent severe changes, in socialist countries their old feudal systems were abolished and land was made available to all villagers.

The Lolo are considered animists, particularly concerned with bad and ancestral spirits. They are a very religious people and even their houses reflect this. There are usually two altars, one ancestral altar hangs on the wall at the left side of the house and the house spirit altar stands at the rear of the central bay.

In their belief system, mit do and ket do are the spirits that govern the world. Mit do is the master of the universe and created mankind. They worship the spirits of the water, trees, forest, earth and sky.
In addition Lolo people venerate their deceased ancestors, for which they maintain an altar in their houses, giving them food and drink daily.

The traditional head of the village is called Ho Nanoi, besides him there are male shamans (pimu), as well as male and female sorcerers. The shaman is responsible for important cultural and religious affairs in the village and organizes these events and rituals. The sorcerers specialize in curing illnesses by traditional methods. In every Lolo village there is a special house for the village spirit at the upper end of the village. The Lolo believe strongly in amulets and charms.

The life of the Lolo in Muang Sing is hard due to their recent arrival in the district. There is a lack of cultivable land and most of the Lolo work on the rice fields of other ethnic groups.