Lifestyle : Animal Trabs

The Akha are experts in hunting and cooking. They do this by making traps to get the animals. The traps are usually made from April to December.

Popular Akha  animals traps are: 1.The bird trap (Lor Tong Err/ Sa Tor Tong Err) The bird trap is very popular for the Akha lifestyle. It is useful in order to get the birds for cooking. They use the chrysalis (Ar Hoo Ba) and the moth as baits for the trap. They stick insects inside the traps and make them move. When the birds see them moving they will try to get the insects. Unfortunately, they become entrapped and it is impossible to escape. The bamboo worm’s trap is where they leave the worms for many days. This is different to the trap mentioned above. According to Akha beliefs, the moth trap can not be left for many days because the ghosts will become entrapped. They trust that the human’s night time is the day time for ghosts and they will live their lives at that time. The Akha are scared of this and the belief is passed down through the generations.

2. Ream or a trap (Lor Joo Tong Err-Akha language, Heaw- Northern Thai language). This trap can be made throughout the entire year. In the past, if they wanted to build this kind of trap, they had to look for the auspicious day called “ Nor Meu” in Akha language. They would not build the trap on the same day as their birthdays, for example the tiger day or the sheep day and so on. They believed that if they built the trap on their birthdays, the spirits would come and sit around. Birds and jungle animals were afraid of becoming entrapped. There are many different sizes of Lor Ju (The traps). The sizes depend on the type of the birds. The Lor Ju is only used to trap poultry that look for food on the ground like the jungle chickens. The process to make the trap is easy. Firstly, before making the trap, they have to clear a row through the weed but make sure there is grass cover on either side of this row. They have then made a space for putting the trap and a space for the animals to walk to it. The trap itself is made of bamboo in a “P” shape. The rope or the liana are used to lace and form a circle. There is another wood which is used with Lor Ju at the tip of the wood. They then bend the wood until it touches the ground and make a hook for locking it up. The hoop is made as big as the bird’s head size. The hoop is in the same height as the bird’s head. When the birds walk close to the trap, their heads will release the set trap. Then, the birds will keep walking and try to flee from the trap. However, when the hook is unlocked, the stick which has been erected will bounce up and their heads become captured by the hoop.

3.Yah Toom Der Err               Yah Toom is a trap for bamboo rats (Oh Pee) or animals which are looking for food in the bamboo clump. Yah Toom is usually set around these bamboo clumps. They will use large wood to block the animals. The method to block it is to lift the tip of the wood up and lock it to the top. There is a crack below and bone is used here as a bait. Then, the animals can see it and eat it up until they are trapped.  The big wood will fall over their bodies and kill them. The day of good luck is set for the making of the Yah Toom Der Err trap. It should be an auspicious day for the family. This day is not the same day as the birthday of the builder but it should be the birthday of another member of the family. On the other hand, the day of someone’s death, if it is an abnormal death (a death which was not caused by nature), is not a good day. Akha will do nothing on such a day. Before making the trap, (the digging day and putting in the pole and so on) the builders must not have sex with their wives because it will make the trap ineffective.

The Yah Toom Trap is used from the time after planting rice until the New Year festival (Kha Tong Ar Pure). The trap will be taken back after the New Year Festival. In the case where the animals are trapped during the festival, the owners can not ask money for any damage caused by the death of their animal because everyone knows that it is the season for trapping. On the other hand, if the animals are trapped after the season is finished the owners can ask for reimbursement for the damage caused.

4.Yah Toom Jay Yah This type of trap is different from the one used at the bamboo clump because they create a fence which covers a large area and allow a space for the animals to walk inside. Spaces along the fence are built with large pieces of wood. Rope is tied at the same height as the animals’ feet and when they walk close to the rope and touch it, the wood will fall over them. As with the Yah Toom Jay Yah trap, the builders must not have sex with their wives because the Akha believe that if they have the sex, the animals will not become trapped. They therefore have to prepare themselves very well. They also carry out a ceremony before making the trap which uses egg, rice, tea and ginger. Firstly, they are make merit and apologize to the deity of the mountains where they are going to hunt. They have to let all the super natural things know that the areas are the place of food and they hunt the animals only for their survival. They will ask for help from the deity to find them a fews animal to trap. They do not ask for big animals just a small one and a thin one rather than a fat one. There is a saying in the Akha language “ Sa Ja Sa Tor Sa Yair Ma Day Lair Yor Heu Ma Nger Yor Yah Yor Choo Ma Nger Yor Jae Bi Nair La”.

5.Lor Per Tong Err is usually held at the same time as Yah Toom Der. This type of trap is used for trapping big animals such as deer, wild boar or tigers. The trapping must be a lucky day for the family; they are not allowed to have sex with their wives before the day on which the trap is built. They have to dig the ground to place poles in it. The shadow of the builder should not cover the hole because otherwise it can not be magical according to Akha belief. The processes for making this trap starts with finding large pieces of wood. They make a fence and leave space for the animals to walk inside before they make the trap. There is a wood which is erected outside the fence and the top of the wood is bent down inside the fence. Then they use a strong rope like the jute (Yor Khong) for making a circle. When the animals step inside the circle, the tip or the wood which has been erected in the ground is freed. This wood will bounce the animals into the air. When they get the animal, they will take off its skin and stick it next to the trap. The animals will not be dead in this trap. However, the hunters will shoot them before taking them out. After killing the animals, they will share the meat, put it in a bag and take it back to their houses.

6.Jay Ber Tong Err is a trap for big animals like wild boar, tiger, deer and so on. The trick of this trap is that the sharper stick will directly shoot the animal and they will die when it touches the rope. This type of trap is quite dangerous for people who do not know about it. They may be unintentionally hit by the trap. So the Akha put this kind of trap in areas where there are not so many people around. They also place symbols to warn people that there is trapping in the area and to be careful. The trap is usually set on animal paths. They will sharpen the wood and use strong rope to block the way with the liana. After the animals touch the rope, the sharpe stick will directly hit the animals. The stick is set to hit at the belly level or the heart. An animal would die almost immediately if they are hit by this kind of trap.

             Akha belief says there must be Yah Toom Der Err Jay Ber Tong Err and Lor Per Tong Err animal traps in every family. By making them family members can live in comfort. The Akha believe that families which do not have these trap will not be happy. They may get sick all the time or they may die for no reason. This is the reason for having the various kinds of traps.

     Nowadays, the number of traps used is decreasing because society has changed and there are different influences on the hill-tribe lifestyle. The ways in which people earn a living have changed. They now mostly buy food which is easier and more comfortable compared to making traps or hunting animals in the jungle. The process to make a trap is quite complicated for the younger generation to understand and make use of.