BLACK TEETH PEOPLE There is little doubt this journey though Northern Thailand has been amazement with each step that I take. Like all countries, cities are cities, no mater what continent you may be trekking through, but when you stride into the rural countryside’s, this is when you start finding the true tenants. This resonated so genuine when I stepped in the Hill Tribe Village occupied by the Lisu. These distinctive and humble people quietly living in this village still practice the unique tradition of teeth blacking. Asia is a land full of customs and rituals that might seem bizarre to the western mind, but I won’t touch some of the religious traditions of the western culture right now. Throughout the Asian continent there are thousands of different traditions that remain alive, often stemmed from religious beliefs that have been faithfully upheld for thousands of years. Married woman mainly practice the custom of teeth blackening, displaying the cultural and traditional sign of beauty; though a few men do it as well, and it is believed it origin derives from China. The main ingredient for teeth blackening is a dark-brown solution of ferric acetate, made by dissolving iron filings in vinegar. When the solution was combined with vegetable tannins from sources such as gallnut powder or tea powder, it would turn black and become non-water soluble. Coating the teeth with this liquid also helped to prevent tooth and enamel decay, and was applied once a day. The Black Teeth people, like all the all of the hill tribes of Northern Thailand live an agricultural life, cultivating rice, corn, vegetables, fruit, and some raise livestock. The villages usually have limited electricity with little, or no indoor plumbing and their homes were mostly made of bamboo and thatched roofs that keep the weather from a group of people with amazingly warm hearts. They care for each other without squabble and ego, even the “farang” that stumbled into their quiet village was treated as a guest receiving nothing but kindness from a village that is highly rich with humanity. - dbA
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 14:57:03 +0000
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