Manau Festival to hold in Thailand
November 28, 2005

Brang Di/ Chiang Mai

Kachins in Thailand plans to hold its traditional Manau festival in Thailand in early of December to honor King of Thailand.

The Manau festival will be held on December 2nd to 5th in Kachin village, Ban Mai Samaki, some 150 km north of Chiang Mai. It would be the second times to celebrate the Manau festival in Thailand.

The aim and objective of the coming Manau celebration is to honor the King’s 78th Birthday, to promote Kachin cultural identity, to have a good relationship with other ethic people in Thailand, and to support tourism and jobs in Thailand, said Jawa Zau, the secretary of the Kachin Traditional Manau Dance Committee in Thailand.

The first Manau festival was held under the title of ‘Peace and Unity’ in December, 2002, and was organized to coincide with the 75th Birthday of the King of Thailand, helping to identify the Kachin as one of the tribal peoples of Thailand. Meanwhile, Kachins in Thailand are preparing for this traditional dance even though they don’t have enough funding for the culture festival.

Since that first Manau dance festival, the Kachins are being recognized as an ethic group in Thailand, and several programs have been initiated under the patronage of the Royal Development Project, RDP. The Project has been supporting development and agriculture activities in the village, considering Ban Mai Samaki as a model village in northern Thailand and through their cultural activities.

After the first celebration in 2002, the Royal Development Project asked villagers to hold the event annually. However, the village elders and some traditional leaders expressed their concern because it was a special dance and a ritual ceremony. Kachins believe that if the Manau festival is perform in improper way, it would come up bad fortune upon the village. That is why Kachins in Thailand planned to perform the festival in this year.

Meanwhile, Thai government keeps a strict eye on everyone who are traveling in and out of the village, even though RDP has recognized the Kachin village as a model village in northern Thailand. In the village, there is only one locally-organized daycare center, which is currently run by two local women. Village’s children also need to go a primary school in the nearby Lahu village, Ban Nong Khaew.

Kachin villagers are living under the status of no citizenship, no basic rights and a little livelihood security, however, Kachin village becomes a target of various development projects in Thailand.