The ethnic Kachin community of Thailand is celebrating their first Manau Dance Festival in the region. The festival was developed by the Kachin Community in conjunction with the Thai Royal Project Foundation in the hopes of preserving the Kachin culture and attracting tourism. The festival includes many different forms of Kachin dancing and art, and its centerpiece is the Manau statue, which is composed of ten totem poles painted with traditional artwork. The Kachin people are indigenous to Burma but fled to neighboring countries over 25 years ago.
