Rice and corn are their staple food. Then villages are often built near rivers or streams or in valleys and foothill. Each village has about 30-40 houses. Pa Then houses are built either on stilts, level with the ground or half on stilts and half on beaten earth. Pa Then dress is very colourful.
Men wear a shirt, long indigo trousers and scarfs.
Women wear a long shirt, a bra and a shirt and wear their hair wound in a turban which is trimmed with colourful motifs, especially in red. Pa Then women like to wear silver ornaments. The Pa Then have many family lineages. People of the same lineage consider themselves next of kin and have common ancestors. Marriage is forbidden within the same lineage.