"No longer far from the ruler:" A "then and now" portrayal of the indigenous Lisu of Mainland Southeast Asia and Southwest China

Abstract

Like other indigenous peoples the world over, the Lisu of Mainland Southeast Asia and Southwest China have experienced profound changes in their lives during the past twenty odd years. The Lisu, a Tibeto-Burman speaking group of some 1.5 million people, are adapting to those changes in ways that, while leading to new and emergent ways of being "Lisu," nevertheless maintain a uniquely "Lisu" disposition or habitus grounded in a strong sense of being "independent," "egalitarian," "hard working," and "self-employed." Situated across the borders of three nation states undergoing dramatic political, economic, and sociocultural transformations - namely China, Myanmar, and Thailand - Lisu, regardless of where they reside, are being strongly impacted by and adapting to situations in which they can no longer live "far from the ruler."