Our visit with \Nuna and TOny from upcountry to the homng hill village was quite an event. We learned after arriving at the upcountry bunglaows that the following day was to be a new year's celebration for the yao village.Because Tony and Nuna know the people from this particular village we were honored to be special invitees to this annual celebration. Little did we know that we were slated to be THE honored guests. I am here to tell you it was very humbling to wakl up the hill, be greeted by excited youngsters who ran ahead to announce our arrival., as we turned the corner we heard the sound of children setting off thousands of firecrackers. We later learned that being the "honored guest brings with it a certain responsibility as well,. Some examples of our responsibilities included, giving awards to the children, drinking rice wine every time the cup was filled, eating chicken feet, singing songs, and of course dancing on stage, to the delight of all. THere were serious moments as well, as the village elders solemly recited the history and story of the yao people for all in the village to hear. A scroll written in the original yao language was recited for all to hear. Basically we were told that the story explains and revisits the migration of the yao people from the dangerous lands north in search of a safe haven. The hills of Thailand provided this save haven then and of course now.
