They have a language that they only speak. Writing is unknown to them. Belief in the spirits of nature and ancient tradition are still part of their everyday life. Their women still wear richly decorated clothes and glittering headdress. These are the characteristics of the Akha, an ethnic minority living in the mountains in the north of Thailand. Only about 24.000 people have found their way from the south of China across Myanmar to these mountains. It was not easy to get a permission to visit a country inhabited exclusively by the Akha. With the help of a scientist the camera was able to film the daily life of 450 Akha, their festivities and rituals, the annual ceremony of rebuiliding the village and the veneration of "Misa Cusah" the one who has power over the earth and water and, lastly, the burial rites of an old man who died in his hut.
Directors
EDOUARD KLEIN
KARL SCHÜTTLER