The Kaleun people (also called Laoeng) are an

ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

of Thailand and Laos.

Other names

Prefixes

*Tai Kaleun *Lao Kaleun

Variations

*Kaleung *Kalung *Kalerng *Kelung *Khalong

Ethnicity

The Kaleun are a

Tai Tai or TAI may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tai (comics) a fictional Marvel Comics supervillain *Tai Fraiser, a fictional character in the 1995 film ''Clueless'' *Tai Kamiya, a fictional character in ''Digimon'' Businesses and organisations ...

ethnic group. However, they may have been descended from

Bru people The Bru (also Bruu, Riang or Bru-Vân Kiều; vi, Người Bru - Vân Kiều; Lao: ບຣູ ; Thai: บรู; which literally means "people living in the woods") are an ethnic group living in Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. They speak a Katu ...

who shifted to a Southwestern Tai language resembling Phuthai and Yoy, as the Vietnamese also refer to the Bru as ''Ka Leung''.World Bank. 2004. Nakai plateau - EMDP and RAP. s.l. ; s.n.. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/603081468046179395/Nakai-plateau-EMDP-and-RAP Chamberlain (2016) conjectures that the Kaleun may have originally been

Vietic The Vietic languages are a branch of the Austroasiatic language family, spoken by the Vietic peoples in Laos and Vietnam. The branch was once referred to by the terms ''Việt–Mường'', ''Annamese–Muong'', and ''Vietnamuong''; the term '' ...

speakers.

Geographic distribution

* Mukdahan Province of

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

* Nakhon Phanom Province of

* Sakhon Nakhon Province of

* Borikhamxai Province of

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

Religions

Theravada Buddhism ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

Language

The Kaleun typically speak Northeastern Thai as their primary language.

References

{{Ethnic groups in Thailand Ethnic groups in Thailand