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SEIDENFADEN, ERIK, COMPILED. THE KHA TONG LU'ANG. JSS. VOL.20 (pt.2) 1926. p.41-48.
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THE KHA TONG LU'ANG.
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Compiled by Major E. Seidenpaden, m. b. a. s.
About these shy evasive savages, two small papers have
already appeared in "The Journal of theSiam Society ", namely one
written by the writer of these lines (Vol. XIII, part III, pp. 49-51) and,
quite recently, another from the hand of Dr. Kerr (Vol. XVIII, part
II, pp. 142-144). Readers having perused both of these notes will
perhaps remember that the habitat of the Khā therein mentioned
was given as the slopes of the extensive mountain range that
separates the circles of Nakon Rajasima and Udon from the Nām
Pāsak Valley, also that in neither cases had the writers personally
met these people, but had obtained all their information from Lāo
villagers who, at rare occasions, did some bartering with them.
The following information, obtained from Mr. T. Wergeni
of The East Asiatic Company's forest staff in Mu'ang Prae
during a recent visit to Bangkok, will therefore, no doubt, be
read with interest. Mr. Wergeni, who probably is the first
and only European to meet these people, saw them for the
first time during last summer (i. e. 1924) at Ban Nām Pu, a
hamlet lying on the road that leads from Mu'ang Prae to
Nakon Nan, about fifty kilometres to the north east of the former
town. Mr. Wergeni, who succeeded in gaining the confidence of
these extremely shy and timid people, describes them in the follow-
ing terma :
Physically the Khā Tong Lu'ang or, as they are called
in the Prae-Nān region, Phi Tong Lu'ang, are characterized by their
strongly developed and muscular legs while the upper parts of their
bodies are proportionally less well developed ( as a result of their
hill climbing life). Their facial expression recalls that of the Lapps
in Northern Sweden, their fronts sloping strongly backwards and
their faces being long and oval shaped. The nose is depressed at the
root but has a distinct tip, with the nostrils rather broad. The
mouth is big, but with thin lips, the upper lip being rather short.
The chin is weak. There is no abnormal hair growth on the body ;
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the hair of the head is lank and straight, the so-called Mongolian
hair, the colour a deep black, but, by reason of exposure to
all kinds of weather, often bleached. Grey hair is common even
among the younger members of the tribe. Their hair looks dusty
and bristling, the tips of the individual hairs often being split in
two, caused by the influence of rain and sun. The men wear their
hair down to the shoulder, the women theirs to the waist. (Mr.
Wergeni has, so far, only met male members of the tribe).
Their eyes are small and brown of colour, the white being of
a yellowish tint. The axial line is horizontal, the eye sight is extra-
ordinarily sharp as befitting a typical race of hunters ; on the other
hand, the expression of their eyes is somewhat dull and unintelligent
like that of a dreamer or rather as that of an opium smoker. Their
skin is of quite a fair complexion, even fairer than that of the Lāo
people, being yellow in colour by reason of their life in the shady
depths of the jungle. These people do not practice artificial defor-
mation of any kind whatever, unless the piercing and expanding of
the ear lobes, in which they often wear large wooden or bamboo
plugs be so-called. The wearing of this plug tends to widen the
hole which little by little becomes quite big, while the ear lobe,
becoming more and more elongated,droops towards the shoulder.
Tattooing is practised only a little by some members in imitation of
the Lāo people, and is then but clumsily done, consisting of a few
horizontal streaks or dotted lines on the front, running along the
rim of the hair, and some other lines running along the edge of the
jaws and chin. In former times tattooing was quite unknown. The
piercing of the ear lobes as well as the tattooing is done purely for
ornamental reasons, these people being very fond of "dressing up,"
and no superstition or ceremonies are attached to it. A certain Lāo
monk living in a wat in Bān Sa i Bao, Amphoe Rong Kwang (N. E.
of Prae) is said to have taught them the tattooing.
The teeth of the Phi Tong Lu'ang are strong and somewhat
long, even old people keep their teeth intact ; the jaws are heavy
and strongly developed.
The habitat of these people is the hilly plateau lying to the
north east of Prae, between the Mē Yom and the Mē Nān Valleys,
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as well as the Mē Tā district, lying to the north west of Prae, also
round the sources of Nām Wā on the border of Nān and the French
protected Lâo state of Luang Phrabang, (Nām Wā is a tributary
to Më Nân and falls in same a little below Amphoe Punyu'n). They
prefer to live on the very tops of the hills in places where springs
are found. Not far from Bân Wang Phûng (S. S. E. of Ban Nam
Pu) lies a certain hill called Phu Sâm Sao, i. e. "the hill of the three
columns", which is considered by all the clans of the tribe, as a kind
of national meeting place where they gather for the annual spirit
offerings. (So at least, was Mr. Wergeni told by the chief of the
clan he met at Ban Nam Pu).
Mentally these people are weakly developed and only some
very few individuals may be said to rank above a general low level
of intelligence. As already mentioned they are called Phi Tong
Lu'ang by the surrounding Lāo, the name literally signifying "the
spirits of the withered leaves" alluding to their very manner
of living and their more than primitive leaf shelters. To this name,
however, they strongly object ; the name by which they call them-
selves in still unknown, when asked they reply in a mixture of Lâo
and Khamu that they are " Khon Pā ", i.e. people of the jungle.
They are very shy and timid and easily frightened, having in former
times been much maltreated by the Lāo who used to hunt them
down and kill them like wild animals.
They are extremely credulous but simple and honest folk,
real Natures children, and, as might be imagined, very superstitious ;
to them the whole world is peopled with evil spirits, every hill, rock
and stream, even the trees, being inhabited by spirits of all of
whom they are mortally afraid.
The tribe is split up in several clans, groups or hordes, none
of whom have any fixed abode, these people being typical hunting
forest nomads. They camp in one place only for just so long a time
as the food supply suffices, their life in fact being one incessant
struggle against starvation. When camping they do not construct
any structures resembling houses or huts, but only very rough leaf-
shelters, one for each family. This kind of shelter consists of
a sort of wind screen seldom more then one meter in height ; it is
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made of a square-formed screen plaited of broad leaved boughs
resting with one edge on the ground, the other one being propped up
with a stick which keeps it in an angle of about 45 degrees. (This
type of shelter is well known by the Shan and Lāo traders who
often use them when camping out during their journeys and is by
them called "kadub"). When their leaf shelters wither the Phi
Tong Lu'ang break up for "pastures new". Hence their name !
They possess no furniture nor any utensils for cooking
purposes ; when they, as rarely happens, get hold of a little rice, they
cook it in bamboo tubes which they cut in the forest. Water and
honey, the latter for their babies, they also keep in bamboo tubes.
Both sexes go generally stark naked, the women always so. The
men, however, sometimes wear a loin cloth of the scantiest descript-
ion, as when they visit the Khamu villages for purposes of barter.
Their food consists of everything eatable, from the biggest
game down to rats, snakes, maggots and worms ; the sprouts and
tender roots of bamboos are one of the chief items of their " menu."
They do not chew betel but they sometimes smoke tobacco when
they can get hold of it ; they do not know the use of opium.
These people eat their food in a most primitive and revolting
manner, not knowing such luxuries as forks, spoons, plates or even
chop sticks. When a piece of game has been killed, they usually
put it straight on the fire without first having skinned, quartered or
cleansed it, even the entrails are left unremoved. By and by, as the
meat becomes more or less roasted, they tear off pieces with their
fingers and start feeding.
Their chief means of livelihood is of course hunting and the
collection of edible roots and sometimes honey.
When hunting they rarely use dogs ; their only weapon
is a long lance provided with an iron head at one end, the
steel obtained from the Lāo or the Khamu, but fashioned
by themselves, a few of them understanding a little smithing.
The shaft is made of a kind of pliable and very strong palm
stem obtained from a wild palm growing on the top of the hills.
These lances or spears often attain a length of 11 feet. (Mr. Wer-
geni was good enough to present me with one of these spears
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the length of which is 9 feet 7½ inches or 2.93 m. The spear head
is 11 inches or 0,28 m long).
The spear head is fastened to the shaft by driving its pointed
lower end into the shaft, afterwards fastening it solidly with a
circular band of iron and a lashing of string. The lances are often
poisoned, the poison being a vegetable one obtained from a bush
with leathery leaves growing on certain hill tops.
The Phi Tong Lu'ang do not know the use of bows and
arrows and possess only a few old knives they have got by barter
from the Khamu. The poison used is very strong and of deadly
nature, even a slight scratch inflicted by such a poisoned spear
will kill a giant like an elephant or the armoured rhinoceros
in a very short time. The poison spreads rapidly to all the organs
of the wounded animal and lames it so quickly that it seldom can
get away from the hunters. When an animal has been killed, the
hunters cut out the flesh nearest the wound as this is uneatable by
reason of the poison, if this is not done quickly the poison will
spread and spoil the whole of the game and the hunters will then
have hunted in vain. Poison is therefore only used when absolutely
necessary, i. e. when the larder of the clan is quite empty.
These children of the hills and the forest are very courageous
hunters and attack all kinds of animals with the exception of the
tiger which they fear. Their speciality is the hunting of the
rhinoceros still to be found in these northern regions in reasonable
numbers, though now far from numerous. These Khā do not know
the use of snares or pitfalls, fishing is also unknown, as they seldom
descend into the valleys. They are, of course, born trackers and
can follow a spoor for miles without losing the scent. As mentioned
above, they do not often use dogs when hunting but use beaters
instead. They possess no domesticated animals (with exception of
said dogs given them by the Khamu), and do not know any other
means of transport than their own feet ; canoes or rafts are also
unknown. They do not cultivate the ground, even gardening is
unknown, they say that they desist from doing so for fear of the
spirits who else would be offended. Their only kind of commerce
consists in barter ; money is unknown and they do not understand
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the length of which is 9 feet 7½ inches or 2.93 m. The spear head
is 11 inches or 0,28 m long).
The spear head is fastened to the shaft by driving its pointed
lower end into the shaft, afterwards fastening it solidly with a
circular band of iron and a lashing of string. The lances are often
poisoned, the poison being a vegetable one obtained from a bush
with leathery leaves growing on certain hill tops.
The Phi Tong Lu'ang do not know the use of bows and
arrows and possess only a few old knives they have got by barter
from the Khamu. The poison used is very strong and of deadly
nature, even a slight scratch inflicted by such a poisoned spear
will kill a giant like an elephant or the armoured rhinoceros
in a very short time. The poison spreads rapidly to all the organs
of the wounded animal and lames it so quickly that it seldom can
get away from the hunters. When an animal has been killed, the
hunters cut out the flesh nearest the wound as this is uneatable by
reason of the poison, if this is not done quickly the poison will
spread and spoil the whole of the game and the hunters will then
have hunted in vain. Poison is therefore only used when absolutely
necessary, i. e. when the larder of the clan is quite empty.
These children of the hills and the forest are very courageous
hunters and attack all kinds of animals with the exception of the
tiger which they fear. Their speciality is the hunting of the
rhinoceros still to be found in these northern regions in reasonable
numbers, though now far from numerous.These Khā do not know
the use of snares or pitfalls, fishing is also unknown,as they seldom
descend into the valleys. They are, of course, born trackers and
can follow a spoor for miles without losing the scent. As mentioned
above, they do not often use dogs when hunting but use beaters
instead. They possess no domesticated animals (with exception of
said dogs given them by the Khamu), and do not know any other
means of transport than their own feet ; canoes or rafts are also
unknown. They do not cultivate the ground, even gardening is
unknown, they say that they desist from doing so for fear of the
spirits who else would be offended. Their only kind of commerce
consists in barter ; money is unknown and they do not understand
( 47 )
Semang Negritos in Malaya on their women's "magic combs". (See
Skeat and Blagden "Pagan races of the Malay Peninsula", Vol. I., p.
420 and onwards).
They have a kind of song, a simple monotonous ditty some-
what resembling the Khamu songs. Musical instruments are quite
unknown. It may be added that during the rainy season these
people rarely leave their mountain fastnesses.
No kind of medicine is known : to cure illness, recourse is had
to offerings to the spirits and exorcisms, such as the " khao phi "
well known among the Lāo people.
Very little is known with regard to the religious ideas of
these people, they are, by all accounts, animists believing in a host
of malign spirits peopling the forest, hill and vale, the rocks,
the streams and even the trees. Sacrifices are made to these spirits,
the grandest offering being that of a pig ; when making offerings
they sing special spirit songs.
When a member of the clan dies, he or she is buried in a
deep grave to protect the corpse from being dug up and eaten by
the tigers. Should this nevertheless happen, it is believed that the
unlucky spirit, the owner of the corpse, becomes an evil one who,
at once, begins to haunt the camps and torment the living.
Magic is, as far as is known, non-existent ; officiating priests
or sorcerers are also unknown. Whether these people believe in a
supreme being has not yet been ascertained, but at least they believe
in a soul and a future existence.
With regard to language no records are, so far, available, the
Kha Tong Lu'ang use a mixture of Lāo and Khamu for bartering
purposes ; their own language seems to consist of a collection of
strange guttural and staccato-like sounds, in which the letter R does
not occur. To the observant ear their language sounds like a
piping and unmanly sort of gibberish.
So far Mr. Wergeni's account of this strange people, perhaps
the only existing tribe on the earth (or at least in Asia) whose
members really go entirely naked. As Mr. Wergeni intends to take
up the study of this people, a task for which he is singularly gifted
and for which the conditions seem as ideal as they can be,we may
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soon get additional information, of which a fuller description of their
social organisation and religious ideas as well as a vocabulary will
be especially welcome to science.
From the information, so far gained, it seems probable that
the Phi Tong Lu'ang belong to a most primitive branch of the Mon-
Khmer race, and it may also seem reasonable to suppose that they are
identical with the Khā Tong Lu'ang who, according to Dr. Kerr's and
my reports,are said to roam the forest-clad slopes of the long moun-
tain range that separates the Nām Pāsak Valley from the Udon-
Nakon Rajasima circles. The latter point can, of course, only be
proved by actual contact with, and study of, the latter. May we
soon be able to find somebody to do this because, as far as informa-
tion goes, these interesting links with the childhood of man are
quickly dying out.
Bangkok 11-1-1925.
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