0Borikhamxay forest dwellers join modern eraArticle Link 30 Views 15 Visits By ant on Oct 24 2008, 2:49 amwww.laosmile.com - Families belonging to the Tongleuang ethnic group are now enjoying an easier life since leaving their forest homes in Khamkeuth district, Borikhamxay province, to live in villages where they have access to everyday amenities. The Tongleuang traditionally live in wooded, hilly areas near streams and rely on the forest to provide them with food such as honey, powdered wood, yams, cassava and taro, as well as wildlife. When their food supplies run out and the banana leaves that form the roofs of their huts turn yellow, they move to another place where food is more plentiful. Families who have left the forest say they feel more comfortable because they no longer live in fear of wild animals. At night, under cover of darkness, they would gather in a wooden cage to protect themselves from attack by tigers. Mr Pieng, 57, who has been living in Nakadok village for the past year, used to live a nomadic lifestyle with his parents and remembers how the elderly and children often fell prey to tigers. His life and that of his friends has improved since they moved to the village. But he has not forgotten his old way of life and continues to make it a part of his routine. Every day he walks barefoot into the forest to gather bamboo and other items for use as food and medicine. “I think everyone appreciates where they have come from, whether they are rich or poor. I’m no different because I still miss my old way of life, where I was born, and the things I used to do with my friends,” he said. Mr Pieng and some of his friends were part of a resistance group that fought against imperial invaders and have strong memories of the time when they served their nation. Twenty-eight Tongleuang families now live in Nakadok village and 12 in Natone village. Another five families are still living in the forest, but have agreed to move to the villages when the rainy season ends. Social development has influenced the Tongleuang and changed their way of life. They are more exposed to information and education than before, and many of them can now speak Lao, which was not the case previously. Their years of jungle living have served them well. They can classify plants and intuitively know where to dig for yams. Mr Leng, 35, whose father was the leader of the group, said they had lived in the forest long enough to know which plants and fruits were poisonous and which were edible. Sometimes people ate poisonous mushrooms by mistake. This was rare but they had no medicine to treat those who fell ill. “As we grew older all we could do was wait for the end of life. People who died were buried while the rest of us just kept on with our lives. That was our life cycle and there was nothing we could do to change it,” Mr Leng said. But their lives did not consist only of hardship and there times of fun they could look forward to. Every year, the group held a traditional ceremony to show respect to their ancestors. They danced around a tree which they had decorated with flowers and ate a meal of taro and yam. “Although we lived like animals, our feelings and reactions were human. We loved, cared for, hugged and kissed our children just like other people. We lived peacefully among friends; there were no penalties for wrongdoers, but if there was a big argument we couldn’t solve, we let our leader pass judgement,” Mr Leng said. “But we suffered a lot. We never had enough to eat and often got cold and wet. Insects were also a terrible problem for us and we got badly bitten.” The group’s scant clothing was made from the bark of a poisonous tree (peuaknong). Before stitching pieces of bark together they had to boil and dry them to neutralise the toxin. The bark was strong and their garments usually lasted for at least two years. They used liquid they extracted from the bark to poison their arrows tips, which they fired from crossbows to kill deer and wild boar. Nets made from tree bark enabled them to catch fish. “Our traditional hunting methods involved helping each other to catch fish in the river. We caught a lot of fish and grilled them or made soup with them,” Mr Leng said. Although they ate a fairly varied diet, they lacked seasoning ingredients. “We only had salt and chilli that we obtained from the forest to make our food tasty,” he said. Clay-fired dried wood mixed with honey was their main source of carbohydrate and their substitute for rice. Mr Leng said the honey they collected from bees in caves was different from other kinds because it gave them stomach upsets and made them feel itchy if they didn’t boil it first. Their household utensils were made from bamboo, wood, leaves and turtle shells. When they moved to another area, they would make new ones. “The more we moved the less food we were able to find because our habitat was shrinking. Slowly the forest area we inhabited got smaller due to degradation, development and population growth,” Mr Leng said. He said his father couldn’t stand the suffering of his friends any longer and decided to visit the village so he could learn how to integrate into a different lifestyle with the help of the local authorities. Then he went back to the forest to convince his friends to join him in the village so their children could have an education. Mr Pieng once had 12 children. But his wife and nine of the children died so he now has three. It has been a hard struggle to bring them up and ensure their survival. Today he is happy with his new life and enjoys watching his children grow up with new vision and ambition.The Tongleuang traditionally live in wooded, hilly areas near streamsand rely on the forest to provide them with food such as taro, honeyand cassava. When their food supplies run out and the banana leavesthat form the roofs of their huts turn yellow, they move to anotherplace where food is more plentiful. The Tongleuang ethnic group nowlive in khamkeuth district, Borikhamxay province.Every year the Tongleuang hold a ceremony to show respect to their ancestorsYam, taro and other forest products are the group’s main food source. A Tongleuang man digs in search of yams. Bury Lao News
