In a sense, Laos remains closer to a conglomeration of tribes than it does to a conventional state composed of a unified people. It is for this reason that the Laotian government is intent on making the upland tribes aware of themselves as part of a nation, to transfer their allegiances from the villages to the nation.
Indeed, due to their differences from the lowland Lao, the hill tribes have always been viewed with a degree of suspicion. They seem a law unto themselves -- difficult to both tame and tax. At the same time, they have shown -- whether under the French, the Japanese or the Pathet Lao -- a remarkable degree of flexibility. As Stephen Mansfield writes, at the end of this informed account, "it is a tribute to the resilience of the hill tribes of Laos that they are still with us today."
At the same time, because they have been marginalized as well as often ignored, little has been written about them. In the literature, these peoples have been classified into four ethnolinguistic gatherings, but this simplifies the reality, ignoring the true natures of the many groupings. Coming up with a fair, faithful and balanced account of these tribes was the task facing Mansfield -- and it is one he has fully accomplished.