10 - Cross-Border Mobility and Social Networks: Akha Caravan Traders

Summary

The development of new infrastructure linking the northern margins of Southeast Asia with the southern perimeter of China is retracing historical trade routes that once connected the indigenous peoples of the region. This chapter is an attempt to provide some empirical evidence of Akha cross-border trading activities between southwest China, Myanmar, and Thailand. Trade and commerce activities are found to be important components of Akha society and they especially illuminate the dynamics of Akha mobility and social networks. Trade activities also shed light on the way in which the Akha interact with other ethnic groups and the way in which their ethnic identities are manipulated in such a context.

The image of highlanders, particularly the Akha in Thailand, as “egalitarian”, “self-sufficient”, and “the least contacted hill tribes” is widely pervasive. Researchers tend to view them as subsistence farmers, and the ideology and ritual practices associated with this pursuit have intrigued anthropologists. Consequently, little attention has been paid to their non-farm activities. Few studies have focused on the trade and commerce activities of the Akha.

There is no doubt that agricultural activities are a prominent part of life among the Akha and that their ritual practices follow the agricultural cycle. But the Akha have always been aware of other economic possibilities, because agriculture did not always supply enough food. Food shortages are nothing new and the fear of hunger is chronic. It was often the case in the past that, in order to survive, the villagers would inevitably be involved with trade and commerce. Indeed, the Akha have been trading for centuries.

Therefore, in order to explore the effects of economic development in the Mekong region on the local society, it would be misleading to assume that Akha society has moved from an “egalitarian” situation to one of unequal class stratification, from a subsistence economy to a market-oriented economy, and from “homogeneous” to complex ethnic relations.