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Chris and Stuart's Amazing Hill Tribes Silver Adventure
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Chris and I were in Bangkok for the jewelry show. Fortunately, Num, from our Purchasing Group, accompanied us. Num was born in Thailand and his assistance with translation and Thai business etiquette was indispensable.
On our third day, at the show, we met a representative of the Hill Tribes silversmiths of northern Thailand. Although we had seen the Hill Tribes silver before, this work had a special ''hand worked'' quality to it that appealed to us. It didn't look like some of the ''manufactured'' items that are starting to appear on the market. We were intrigued and wanted to know more about it.
Well, you know how one thing leads to another. The next thing we knew, we had cancelled our trip to China and were on a plane to Chiang Mai, northern Thailand.
The various Hill Tribes live in the area known as the Golden Triangle, where Thailand, Laos and Burma (Myanmar) all come together. This area has become famous for the fact that the bulk of the world's opium is grown here.
Chiang Mai is the threshold to this fascinating part of the world and is an exotically beautiful city in its own right.
We met our first Hill Tribes villager that evening at the Night Bazaar. The Night Bazaar is a giant street market that springs up afresh every evening and disappears by the next morning. The villager was a young woman carrying a small child. Both were dressed in vivid fuchsia garments, adorned everywhere with gleaming silver chains, bangles, earrings and beads. This woman didn't have a booth to sell from. She was on foot - barefoot - on the street selling silver trinkets from her outstretched palm. Num tried to talk to her, but he said that she spoke no Thai. Num said that she wasn't begging but had a perfectly legitimate business. We later learned that she was probably a member of the Akha tribe, who are highly respected silversmiths.
The Hill Tribes consist of six distinct tribal groups, each with its own characteristic dress, customs and styles of ornamentation. The Tribes are known in Thailand as the Karen (Kariang, Yang), the Hmong (Meo), the Mien (Yeo), the Akha (Kaw), the Lahu (Mussur), and the Lisu (Lisaw). All of the tribes do silversmithing. All of the tribal peoples wear beads. It's just that not all of the people make all of the beads. Some of them actually have their beads made by other tribes. Some of the tribes simply make silver and beads for their own consumption; others are more motivated to make additional products for trade with the outside world. To make this really interesting, individual silversmiths have their own preferences about what they are willing to make and in what quantities. Wow, this sounds like just our sort of challenge!
The tribal villages are scattered over an immense area. Some can only be approached on foot; others are serviced by primitive dirt (mud) roads. We'd like you to join us on what might be a typical visit to a Hill Tribe village: After three hours, crowded in the cab of a small white pickup truck, we were glad to be approaching the village. Some of the bumps and potholes may have loosened one of the fillings in my teeth. It looks like most of the village is busy thatching the roof of a new house that they are building. The guide tells us that everyone turns out to help in this type of activity. The home's new owner will usually roast a pig and treat his helpers to a feast when the job is done that evening. |  Son of the village headman. |
The village looks like we've traveled a few centuries back in time. Everything is hand wrought out of materials from the jungle. The people are all wearing bright hand-woven clothing and ornaments. Just as you start to get accustomed to the differences in dress, you see a teenager in a tee shirt and Levis. In one primitive looking house we could see women working at foot-treadle sewing machines.
The people have a difficult existence, growing rice and wresting their other needs from the jungle. In this border area, they are plagued by the activities of smugglers, rogue soldiers and opium warlords.
The people in many of the tribes have learned that collectors in the outside world are tremendously interested in their crafts. They have had success in making basketry, musical instruments, jewelry, tools, utensils, weapons, traps, and clothing for sale to townspeople.
We eventually are allowed to visit the shop where the men are making silver jewelry. Traditionally, silver jewelry has been kept as a store of wealth as well as a means of beautification. Silver jewelry, proudly worn, adds to their financial security, as well as their status. It also helps to attract potential suitors to young women and it adds color and excitement to many rather routine lives.
Watching how the jewelry is made took me back to my first silversmithing class many years ago. Silver ingots are flattened by pounding with hammers. The resulting sheet is cut with jewelers' saws, inch-by-inch, and wire is repeatedly pulled through ancient draw dies. Repoussé work is accomplished by hammering thin silver sheets into black tar molds. The silver they use is soft; they use a .999 pure silver, not the .925 sterling to which we are accustomed. The jewelry they create, with such tremendous effort, has enormous consequence to them; not just as objects of value but also as items of classic beauty and symbolic significance. The pieces go together surprisingly fast, but on inspection we notice that there are no two pieces that are exactly alike; each has its unique, handmade characteristics.
Village silversmith creating adornments using basic silversmithing techniques.
The guide tells us that the people do not totally trust paper money. They prefer silver coins, jewelry, silver ingots, and silver pipes and boxes, because they feel that these items always retain their value.
As darkness falls, we get invited to join a three-family group for an evening meal. The women have prepared a supper of rice, herbs and roots from the jungle, plus some kind of meat, that the guide can't (or won't) explain. After they have cleaned up after the meal, the woman cluster in a circle squatting and talking endlessly. The men sit around their fire and tell stories as they smoke their pipes and drink large quantities of hot tea.
The guide says the stories retell epic feats of great heroes and serve to keep their legends alive. This is also how their culture is passed to the children. The night sky at this high altitude is breathtaking; you can almost reach out and grab a star. We awaken to the sounds of cows mooing, roosters crowing, pigs and children squealing and the rhythmical sound of the rice-pounder as the women pound the paddy (unhusked rice). Breakfast is a repeat of supper; we still don't know what we're eating. Back in the pickup, we dart around children bringing fresh water from a nearby stream and head back to Chiang Mai. You know, that tooth filling really is coming loose! We had prepared our initial bead order and presented it to the broker. Later, she came to us in tears. "You have no idea," she said, "of all the good you have done for these people." |  Father and Son. |
With Num translating, she explained that the elders of the villages feared that they were losing their tribal cultures. There was not enough work in the villages to keep the young people from drifting into the towns, looking for city-work. With this order they could train many of them in their silversmithing traditions. With a steady flow of work, they hope to reverse the city trend and continue their tribal culture.
Chris promised, ''We'll do our very best!" She then gave me a big hug and said, ''You know? This it what we do; this is what it's all about!" I said, "Yep!''
Additional Materials
- Shop for Hill Tribes Fine Silver Beads and Components
