A young Akha girl runs past the carved phallic guardian figures near one of the symbolic gateways to the tribal village, in northern Thailand. The Akha are one of the mot distinctive and colourfully dressed of the hilltribes that live in the mountainous border areas of Thailand, Burma, Laos ans southern China. Of Tibeto-Burmese origin, they build their villages of stilted houses on the middle slopes of the forested hills. Two wooden gates with stylized figures guard the upper and lower approaches to the villages against evil forces, and are carved anew each year. This is the village of Maw La Akha in Chinag Rai province..