The Gwi tribe of northeast Thailand have been celebrated by storytellers for many generations because of their unique culture and skills. The Gwi for centuries, have lived side by side with elephants: in the past, capturing, raising and training them for use in the army and Buddhist ceremonies, as well as for gifts to the kings of Thailand. Their daily lives, social hierarchy and religious practices were all defined by their relationships to elephants. This relationship was fundamental in the development of Thailand as a nation and the entire region of Southeast Asia. As their landscape changed physically and politically, so too did the Gwi.