The Akha hilltribe
Sept 30, 2011
By Henri Roux
The Akha and Phu Noi Minorities of Laos in the 1920s presents a wealth of data and a number of unique period photographs, collected by a French military administrator, of the area around Phongsaly, then the Fifth Military Territory in northern Laos. It is fair to say that this book presents a rare view of the original condition of these tribal populations as the observations date from the early 1920s when very few Europeans had been in this area. The text systematically reviews all that there was to know about these people: origins, physical characteristics, dwellings, customs and sorcery, ceremonies and feasts, ownership and economics, social relations, legends, even the dream world and the significance of omens are discussed. The measurement, time and writing systems and a number of typical texts have also been included. Together with rare period photographs not found elsewhere this book also provides an ethnographic treasure trove for people interested in the authentic textiles and material cultures of these two groups. Introduction
There is no better way to start the introduction to these detailed studies than to translate the footnote Chef de Bataillon Henri Roux de l’Infanterie Coloniale, the author of this work, put at the beginning of his text, published in the 24th volume of the much praised Bulletin de l’École Française d’Extrême Orient:
‘The notes that follow have been written when I commanded the 5th Territoire Militaire, in Phongsaly, in the north of Laos, on the border with Yunnan.
The information has in general been collected during my rounds, during nights in camp. The two secretary-interpreters of the territory: Tsan-Man Chuy for things concerning the Akhas, and Phouy for what relates to the Phu Nois, have been for me valuable collaborators. It is only fair to give them the praise they deserve for their patience and their devotion. The transcription I followed is that of quoc-ngu with the following additions: p’ = aspired p (ph = f), sh = lingual s.’
This was one of just a few footnotes, and translators the world over love such people—a military man he was too as we gain the impression that no detail was too unimportant to be recorded in order to secure the final goal: to know these people and to know them well. One wonders whether one should add: ‘just in case …’ as an afterthought, because Roux served ‘on the border with Yunnan’. Besides, the transcription he proposed has not been followed consistently.
Nothing would come of radical thoughts of revolt, such as the Meos had staged, and modernization alone would do the job for a number of decades, at least until the 1960s, of changing—or maybe corrupting—these people. Now, at least the Akhas enjoy worldwide attention as a tourist attraction. I believe that would have filled the major with sadness, and so would quite a number of websites proclaiming their objective of attempting to help the Akhas retain their cultural identity. Symptomatic of the nature of the interest are the various spellings of the names of the Akhas and Phu Nois that are found all over the internet’s information tsunami. For the sake of readability and in order that place names can be found, not only on French maps (which often have different spellings from the texts in which they are incorporated), but also in the field, as little ‘modernization’ as possible is undertaken by translators. But we often have to adopt, or do away with, the unavoidable and oh-so-French ‘ou’. But, we were speaking about ‘mœurs et coutumes’, that almost untranslatable and largely tautological phrase that every dictionary of the last 200 years refuses to include as an idiomatic expression. But we know what it means, and quietly hope that this little volume will help to restore them in their original form among the Akhas and the Phu Nois.
The little volume you have in your hand first appeared in 1924. With some delay for the work to be polished and published we can assume that the information contained in it dates from the first year or so of the 1920s. The author refers to 1921 for some information and also to his long stay of some eight years in the colony. Therefore, this book stands—and stands tall—as a baseline, because nothing much had been achieved in spreading French culture in Laos in the thirty or so years it had been under the benevolent protectorate of France. Administration, if left alone 10,000 kilometers from Paris, does not do much damage and rarely overshadows anything. It just costs money and hence causes taxation—and even on this the major reported a certain amount, albeit not in extenso. Before that period, however, there must have been other influences, but they must have been instead of Chinese or perhaps other montagnard nature. A fascinating thought indeed. One just wonders whether there were only the little coins that were adopted as ‘jewelry’ by various tribes—even if its silver content kept diminishing? Trade in this area, with China and perhaps the Red River areas all the way to the Vietnamese coast, must have had a spin-off even in the make up and fashion of the women of these tribes. The work of Roux shows that at least they had made a distinction between dress, ceremonial dress and everyday working clothes to wear when toiling on mountain paths and in rais. Only women wear such clothes. Even in near-military reports one can read between the lines …
We have omitted only some vocabularies from the original work, as they are very limited and surely have been made obsolete by dictionaries published since the 1920s. We have preserved some texts as their contents may have a documentary value, despite all the difficulties of transcribing phonetically sounds western ears believe they have discerned. Because of poor rendering and the simplification of pronunciation and transcription, Phu Nois or Akhas aspiring to a career in sorcery are advised to look elsewhere. Although the photographs included here have great documentary value their technical quality, as reprinted on the plates added to the original publication in the Bulletin, is less than perfect. Little figures scattered around in different paragraphs are almost too poor to reprint but one never knows, there might be experts who are able to interpret details that escape the attention of a run-of-the-mill translator. Besides, White Lotus Press has previously published several volumes containing outstanding photographs of minorities of the Lao mountains and Yunnan border areas, notably, the Pavie Mission Reports, Maurice Abadie’s Minorities of the Sino-Vietnamese Borderland, Charles Robequain’s Photographic Impressions of French Indochina, Albert Sarraut’s Indochina and Jean Renaud’s Laos in the 1920s. The Gods, Monks and Mountains of Laos.
The latter volume gives a good general idea of the attitude of French colonialists and the colonial administration towards peoples that they pejoratively grouped under the name Kha, mostly in Laos and Siam, or Moï, in Vietnam. Jean Renaud being a political man, that book is in a sense complementary to the ‘dry’ reporting of Henri Roux, who clearly loved ‘his people’. The page facing the title page of this book lists a number of related works published by White Lotus Press, both new texts and the first English translations of others, for those deeply interested in minorities in Laos. While they might not all have the level of detail of the present volume, they include hearsay field anecdotes and, perhaps embellished, adventure stories. Henri Roux, a military man toiling on his field desk to write one of his two great works, also wrote about a number of colorful events and anecdotes, but they are all true.
Dr. Walter E. J. Tips
This book can be purchased from White Lotus books in Bangkok and associated Thai bookstores.
Read More http://akhahilltribe.blogspot.com
Akha Book: The Akha and the Phu Noi Minorities of Laos in the 1920's
Sept 30, 2011By Henri Roux
The Akha and Phu Noi Minorities of Laos in the 1920s presents a wealth of data and a number of unique period photographs, collected by a French military administrator, of the area around Phongsaly, then the Fifth Military Territory in northern Laos. It is fair to say that this book presents a rare view of the original condition of these tribal populations as the observations date from the early 1920s when very few Europeans had been in this area. The text systematically reviews all that there was to know about these people: origins, physical characteristics, dwellings, customs and sorcery, ceremonies and feasts, ownership and economics, social relations, legends, even the dream world and the significance of omens are discussed. The measurement, time and writing systems and a number of typical texts have also been included. Together with rare period photographs not found elsewhere this book also provides an ethnographic treasure trove for people interested in the authentic textiles and material cultures of these two groups. Introduction
There is no better way to start the introduction to these detailed studies than to translate the footnote Chef de Bataillon Henri Roux de l’Infanterie Coloniale, the author of this work, put at the beginning of his text, published in the 24th volume of the much praised Bulletin de l’École Française d’Extrême Orient:
‘The notes that follow have been written when I commanded the 5th Territoire Militaire, in Phongsaly, in the north of Laos, on the border with Yunnan.
The information has in general been collected during my rounds, during nights in camp. The two secretary-interpreters of the territory: Tsan-Man Chuy for things concerning the Akhas, and Phouy for what relates to the Phu Nois, have been for me valuable collaborators. It is only fair to give them the praise they deserve for their patience and their devotion. The transcription I followed is that of quoc-ngu with the following additions: p’ = aspired p (ph = f), sh = lingual s.’
This was one of just a few footnotes, and translators the world over love such people—a military man he was too as we gain the impression that no detail was too unimportant to be recorded in order to secure the final goal: to know these people and to know them well. One wonders whether one should add: ‘just in case …’ as an afterthought, because Roux served ‘on the border with Yunnan’. Besides, the transcription he proposed has not been followed consistently.
Nothing would come of radical thoughts of revolt, such as the Meos had staged, and modernization alone would do the job for a number of decades, at least until the 1960s, of changing—or maybe corrupting—these people. Now, at least the Akhas enjoy worldwide attention as a tourist attraction. I believe that would have filled the major with sadness, and so would quite a number of websites proclaiming their objective of attempting to help the Akhas retain their cultural identity. Symptomatic of the nature of the interest are the various spellings of the names of the Akhas and Phu Nois that are found all over the internet’s information tsunami. For the sake of readability and in order that place names can be found, not only on French maps (which often have different spellings from the texts in which they are incorporated), but also in the field, as little ‘modernization’ as possible is undertaken by translators. But we often have to adopt, or do away with, the unavoidable and oh-so-French ‘ou’. But, we were speaking about ‘mœurs et coutumes’, that almost untranslatable and largely tautological phrase that every dictionary of the last 200 years refuses to include as an idiomatic expression. But we know what it means, and quietly hope that this little volume will help to restore them in their original form among the Akhas and the Phu Nois.
The little volume you have in your hand first appeared in 1924. With some delay for the work to be polished and published we can assume that the information contained in it dates from the first year or so of the 1920s. The author refers to 1921 for some information and also to his long stay of some eight years in the colony. Therefore, this book stands—and stands tall—as a baseline, because nothing much had been achieved in spreading French culture in Laos in the thirty or so years it had been under the benevolent protectorate of France. Administration, if left alone 10,000 kilometers from Paris, does not do much damage and rarely overshadows anything. It just costs money and hence causes taxation—and even on this the major reported a certain amount, albeit not in extenso. Before that period, however, there must have been other influences, but they must have been instead of Chinese or perhaps other montagnard nature. A fascinating thought indeed. One just wonders whether there were only the little coins that were adopted as ‘jewelry’ by various tribes—even if its silver content kept diminishing? Trade in this area, with China and perhaps the Red River areas all the way to the Vietnamese coast, must have had a spin-off even in the make up and fashion of the women of these tribes. The work of Roux shows that at least they had made a distinction between dress, ceremonial dress and everyday working clothes to wear when toiling on mountain paths and in rais. Only women wear such clothes. Even in near-military reports one can read between the lines …
We have omitted only some vocabularies from the original work, as they are very limited and surely have been made obsolete by dictionaries published since the 1920s. We have preserved some texts as their contents may have a documentary value, despite all the difficulties of transcribing phonetically sounds western ears believe they have discerned. Because of poor rendering and the simplification of pronunciation and transcription, Phu Nois or Akhas aspiring to a career in sorcery are advised to look elsewhere. Although the photographs included here have great documentary value their technical quality, as reprinted on the plates added to the original publication in the Bulletin, is less than perfect. Little figures scattered around in different paragraphs are almost too poor to reprint but one never knows, there might be experts who are able to interpret details that escape the attention of a run-of-the-mill translator. Besides, White Lotus Press has previously published several volumes containing outstanding photographs of minorities of the Lao mountains and Yunnan border areas, notably, the Pavie Mission Reports, Maurice Abadie’s Minorities of the Sino-Vietnamese Borderland, Charles Robequain’s Photographic Impressions of French Indochina, Albert Sarraut’s Indochina and Jean Renaud’s Laos in the 1920s. The Gods, Monks and Mountains of Laos.
The latter volume gives a good general idea of the attitude of French colonialists and the colonial administration towards peoples that they pejoratively grouped under the name Kha, mostly in Laos and Siam, or Moï, in Vietnam. Jean Renaud being a political man, that book is in a sense complementary to the ‘dry’ reporting of Henri Roux, who clearly loved ‘his people’. The page facing the title page of this book lists a number of related works published by White Lotus Press, both new texts and the first English translations of others, for those deeply interested in minorities in Laos. While they might not all have the level of detail of the present volume, they include hearsay field anecdotes and, perhaps embellished, adventure stories. Henri Roux, a military man toiling on his field desk to write one of his two great works, also wrote about a number of colorful events and anecdotes, but they are all true.
Dr. Walter E. J. Tips
This book can be purchased from White Lotus books in Bangkok and associated Thai bookstores.
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