ABSTRACT
The Lua people of the Chiang Mai area (Figure 20.1), also known as Lawwa (Schliesinger 2000), have a deep spiritual relationship with the various sacred mountain sites along the Thongchai mountain range. In particular they have a close affinity to Doi Kham and Doi Suthep. They follow ancestral traditions as well as honouring Buddhist values for the mountains. Each year, for example, they hold sacrificial rites at Doi Kham near Doi Suthep. The Lua have been in Chiang Mai the longest of all races in the region and it is thought they were the first people to inhabit the Chiang Mai Valley over 1,300 years ago. Penth (1994), for example, indicates that Lua culture predates the historic Lan Na period. Today they are assimilated into Northern Thai society (Lan Na region) in the villages along the Thongchai Mountain range on the west of Chiang Mai – Lamphun basin.
