The Lisu Tribe

The Lisu tribe from Kachin State and southern Shan State is a less-known tribe. They make their living out of hunting and cultivating crops. They are the most colorful tribe of all that are present in Myanmar. In fact, their confidence shows off in the colorful attires they make for themselves. "Li” (from the word "eelee”) means culture and “su” means a person. The liberal minded Lisu people are very heritage conscious. However, they are not orthodox and started to migrate to Thailand in 1921. They receive new things but through a democratic administrative process. Their language can be extended from the Yi-Lolo subgroup of the Tibeto-Burman family of languages. Almost 30% of the language is drawn from the Chinese Haw dialect. Salaween and Mekong rivers (northern Tibet) are the original places of the Lisus.