She may court many before choosing her husband. If a spouse is unfaithful or a husband abusive, the tribal leader will call a village meeting and pronounce a divorce. The courts are not involved. In the village at the top of the hill, an old man sits on his porch, in the shade of a thatched roof, putting the finishing touches on a basket. The people of all tribes have their own distinctive features.
Some groups favor tattoos or large pierced earlobes.
Others wear brass ankle bracelets and some women go bare breasted. It is a common sight to see groups of pipe-smoking women, carrying baskets on their backs, walking single file on the way to market or to the fields. Modern times are touching the lives of the ethnic minorities, though especially those in villages near towns. Many people wear Western clothes, children go to school and some people have converted to Buddhism. And modern times are touching the splendid natural beauty of Ratanakiri - but in many places just barely.