View of some ethnic minorities in Laos

[Laan Yaa Mo]

I read somewhere that the Lao people only constitute about one-third of the population of the country. There are many minorities living in the hills, and you can get an idea of the dress of some of them in this music video. I only came across a few of the minority people, mostly in Luang Namtha, Muang Sing, the Bolaven Plateau and Oudomxai. In the video the major activity seems to be tossing and catching tennis balls.

[JoeThrows]

What's the story with the tennis balls? Seems pretty random

[Laan Yaa Mo]

Good question. Maybe it is a courting ritual, or perhaps it is the start of baseball spring training and they are getting their arms loose before they pitch from the mound. 55+

[Laan Yaa Mo]

It turns out that the throwing of tennis balls by Hmong youth (pov pob) is indeed a courting ritual. If the girl likes a guy she tosses the ball to him, and hopes it is returned. If the boy throws the ball to the girl and she drops it, well, that's it. She is not interested.

http://www.thestar.com.my/story/?file=% ... lifeliving

[Laan Yaa Mo]

These young girls must be practising for the big day:-

[Laan Yaa Mo]

Here is a look at the Hmong New Year, and you can see that tennis-ball throwing plays a major role. Some of these people should invest in rackets as their hand and eye co-ordination is probably pretty good.

[Laan Yaa Mo]

Along with the Thai, Tai Yai (Shan), and Lao, the Tai Dam are members of the Tai family. You can see a bit of their customs and culture from this video by Pu (crab).