Life-Style

The Tai-Khamti are very strong believers of Theravada Buddhism. Every house has a prayer room and they pray every morning and evening by offerings flowers (nam taw yongli) and food (khao tang som). They are peace-loving people.

Houses of the Tai-Khampti are built on raised floors with thatched roofs. The roofs are constructed so low that the walls remain concealed. Wooden planks are used for flooring and the walls are made of bamboo splices.

The Khamti are settled agriculturists. They use the plough (Thaie) drawn by a single animal, either an oxen or a buffalo or even an elephant in olden days.

The Khamti raise crops such as paddy rice (khow), mustard/sesame seeds (nga) and potato (man- kala). Their staple food is rice, usually supplemented by vegetables, meat and fish. They also drink a beer made from rice (low) as a beverage which is not served during festivals. Some of the well known dishes are khao puk (made out of sticky rice and sesame seeds), khao lam (bamboo rice), paa sa (fresh river fish soup with special herbs), paa som, and nam som among others. Beef is considered taboo.^[2]

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khamti_people}