Uncle Ja Yo, Ban Bor Kai village Lahu playing Nor Ku Ma - Thailand

Uncle Ja Yo, Ban Bor Kai village Lahu playing traditional Nor Ku Ma instrument.
Lahu people are famous for their musical instruments, made of wood and bamboo. Uncle Ja Yo on the picture told that when he was young, he used his Nor Ku Ma to seduce the girls from the others villages, playing loud to attire them all a round the valley !
Lahu people live in the mountains of China, Myanmar (Burma), Laos and northern Thailand. There are approximately 30 000 Lahus now living in Thailand. There are four tribes within the Lahu: Black, Red, Yellow and She-Leh.I met the Black ones, called like that because of the black colors of the women traditional clothes sleeves.
Before, their domestic animals like chicken, pigs and buffalos were kept in the basement corral of their houses, but thai goverment has asked them to separate for health security. So now, you can find 2 villages : one for the humans, one for the animals ! Most of the time, Lahus remain in the same place, but if some strange deaths happens , they can decide to leave the place.
The Lahus are animist and believe in one spirit with overall control all the others. Many Lahus have been converted to christianity and have abandoned their old way of life.