The major factor contributing to the maintenance of the Shan or Tai culture was the perception of its values or benefits in the form of beliefs transmitted through rituals until they had become a relationship between man and supernatural powers and between man and man. Religion and beliefs emphasized the importance of their teachings connected by rituals and conditioned by the community, long practices and repetitive performances from one generation to the next.
            Mechanisms contributing to the maintenance of the ethnic culture included the family institution cultivating the ethnic language, social norms, behaviors and lifestyles in children, and the elderly providing advice on conducting rituals. Moreover, monks taught morality and education whereas folk specialists transmitted local wisdom, such as rituals, craftsmanship and handicraft. Finally, community leaders organized and facilitated activities, and kin supported and helped in rituals and community activities. However, the remaining Tai cultural aspects were found to be not the same as in the past. There had been changes in the values and patterns of the ethnic culture.