Lahu houses are divided into four broad types according to their external physical aspects: traditional houses, traditional houses with mixed materials, applied or extended houses, and modern houses. In a traditional house, shape, size, proportion, space and construction materials are embedded with folk wisdom, lifestyle and beliefs, particularly beliefs in spirits. The belief in ancestral spirits is central to the existence and identity of a Lahu house. However, houses have changed nowadays due to both internal and external factors. What is evident is consumerism and the search for stronger construction materials which have led to changes of traditional Lahu houses.