TO THE MOUNTAIN TOPS

About the Book

This is a report about the Lahu people, more precisely, the Lahu Na divisions of the several ethnic Lahuspeaking tribal groups. During the period of this report written by Harold Mason Young, most of the Lahu Na lived in northeastern Burma,in the Kengtung Shan State of Burma and the bordering province of Yunnan, China. Harold's focus on the Lahu Na arose from the unusual experience of having been born of missionary parents (1901, Kengtung, Burma) and not only growing up among the Lahu, but working with them as a missionary during his young adult years in Banna, China. Naturally Harold would learn to speak Shan and Lahu, and more important, to become united with this unique culture. Harold accumulated knowledge and appreciation for their ways as few other foreigners from the outside world would accomplish during this time of history.

Harold considered the Lahu Na as unique, and while similar to other Lahu hill people, they were distinct in their own ways. In this book he carefully details the people, their history as passed down from generation to generation, their customs, beliefs and rituals, and most notable, their wonderful knowledge of nature. Harold's report of the Lahu Na during this period of history is extraordinary as the Lahu people did not write or document any of these cultural points of interest, and the fact that he made the effort to write this book makes available to all a piece of history that is almost now lost to the modern world.

This book is not intended to be a formal work on the cultural anthropology of the Lahu people, yet considerable information has been offered here to students of disappearing cultures. It is intended that this collection will expand information that students of social sciences might seek, and if that is realized, then the efforts of publishing Harold's writing, with its detailed and sincere reporting, will have been sufficiently rewarded.

The Gordon Young Family

About the Author

Gordon Young was born in 1927 to American Baptist missionary parents in Banna, China. The family soon moved to Northeast Burma where Young hunted with Lahu tribal boys, learning by age ten to survive in mountain jungles alone, armed only with knife and bow. World War II impacted on Young’s amazing childhood adventures in Burma and India. Later he served the U.S. Army in Korea, obtained a B.S. degree at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo; then moved to Chiang Mai, Thailand to work for the U.S. Government. There he field collected for museums, helped found the Chiang Mai Zoo, compiled the first informal ethnography of Thailand’s northern tribes, and received “Great Hunter” status from a Lahu high chief. Naturalist-hunter-conservationist-ethnologist, Young’s travels and tales span forty years throughout parts of Asia. A keen compassionate observer, his exciting storytelling also offers rare insight on vibrant peoples, cultures and wildlife in remote, seldom-trodden places. Other titles by Young are: The Hill Tribes of Northern Thailand; Tracks of an Intruder. (Visit: www.GordonYoungBooks.com)