Akha houses are built by the entire village and according to strict rules of what is allowed. All houses follow the same pattern whether they are the traditional hut or a concrete house.

After the house is finished, in the evening, a small pig is brought into the house and killed for the evening meal. The pig is not butchered in the normal way, but is opened after it is killed first to take out the liver and look at the liver in considering the fortune of the inhabitants of the new house.

Elderly men read the liver for certain signs that each fold exhibit.