Akha people love to party! The festivals and other celebrations differ depending on what religion the people follow, but all Akha love to gather and eat together. Most Akha who follow the “Akha Way” of traditional Akha beliefs involving ancestral worship have nine major ancestral offerings each year. Outsiders can’t come into house while the offering is being made, and villagers don’t go to work in the fields. The days differ from village to village, depending on the ‘auspicious day’ of the village founder.

The holidays include:

Ga tah pa eu, the New Year offering.

K’m shui, an offering to help hunters, involving coloring chicken eggs

K’m mi, in honour of the village founder

Ceh ka, rice planting

Yeh ku, women’s New Year, one of the few times the village swing can be used. This is to help ensure women’s continuing good health.

Zaw la la-eu, an offering to ensure plentiful crops

Ya ci ci-eu, chicken plucking offering

Ka yeh yeh-eu, driving evil spirits from the village. This is one of the few ceremonies that outsiders are able to watch.

Ceh nm, offering for new rice.

Other major village ceremonies include Law kah m-eu, the renewal of the village gate. Mi sah cu sah law-eu is an offering to the “lords and rulers of land and water,” performed at a special tree outside the village.