The Tai Lü people ( Tai Lue: ᦺᦑᦟᦹᧉ, , ''Dǎi lè'', lo, ລື້, ''Lư̄'', th, ไทลื้อ, , vi, Người Lự) are an ethnic group of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

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

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 ...

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. They speak a Southwestern Tai language.

Etymology

The word ''Lü'' (ລື້) is similar to the ''Lao people'' in the

Tai Lü language Tai Lue (Tai Lü: , ''kam tai lue'', , Tai Tham: ) or Tai Lɯ, Tai Lü, Thai Lue, Tai Le, Xishuangbanna Dai (; my, လူးရှမ်း, luu Shan; lo, ພາສາໄຕລື້; th, ภาษาไทลื้อ, ''phasa thai lue'', ; ...

. Tai Lü can be written as Tai Lue, Dai Le and Dai Lue. They are also known as Xishuangbanna Dai, Sipsongpanna Tailurian and Tai Sipsongpanna. The word ''Lue'' (

Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...

: เหนือ Tai Lue: ᦟᦹᧉ) in the

Tai languages The Tai or Zhuang–Tai languages ( th, ภาษาไท or , transliteration: or ) are a branch of the Kra–Dai language family. The Tai languages include the most widely spoken of the Tai–Kadai languages, including Standard Thai or Sia ...

means "north", thus their ethnonym means ''Northern Tai'' which they share with

Tai Nua people Tai Nüa ( Dehong Dai: ᥖᥭᥰ ᥘᥫᥴ ''Tai Lə;'' Chinese: 傣那 ''Dǎinà'') is one of the Tai ethnicities in South East Asia. They are mostly found in the Yunnan Province of China, Laos, Thailand, Burma and Vietnam and some have emigrated ...

Distribution

In Vietnam, most Lu live in

Lai Châu Province Lai or LAI may refer to: Abbreviations * Austrian Latin America Institute (Österreichisches Lateinamerika-Institut) * ''Latin American Idol'', TV series * La Trobe Institute, Melbourne, Australia * Leaf area index, leaf area of a crop or ve ...

and their population was 5,601 in 2009. In China, they are officially recognized as part of the Dai ethnic group. The 2000 census counted about 280,000 Dai people speaking Lü language. The population in Thailand, where they are called Thai Lue ( th, ไทลื้อ), was in 2001 estimated to be approximately 83,000.Johnstone and Mandryk 2001; cited in Most Thai Lue in Thailand live in

Nan Nan or NAN may refer to: Places China * Nan County, Yiyang, Hunan, China * Nan Commandery, historical commandery in Hubei, China Thailand * Nan Province ** Nan, Thailand, the administrative capital of Nan Province * Nan River People Given name ...

Chiang Rai Chiang Rai ( th, เชียงราย, ; nod, , เจียงฮาย, ) is the northernmost major city in Thailand, with a population of about 200,000 people. It is located in Mueang Chiang Rai District, Chiang Rai Province. Chiang Rai ...

Phayao Phayao () is a city (''thesaban mueang'') in northern Thailand, capital of Phayao Province. For administrative purposes the city is divided into 15 sub-districts (''tambons''), which are further subdivided into 172 administrative villages. The t ...

and

Chiang Mai Province Chiang Mai ( th, เชียงใหม่, ; nod, , ) is the largest Province (''changwat'') of Thailand. It lies in upper northern Thailand and has a population of 1.78 million people. It is bordered by Chiang Rai to the northeast, Lam ...

. They sing ''khap lue'' ( th, ไทลื้อขับ, ) and play ''pi mae'' ( th, ปี่แม่) -

free reed A free reed aerophone is a musical instrument that produces sound as air flows past a vibrating reed in a frame. Air pressure is typically generated by breath or with a bellows. In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, it is number: 412.13 (a member ...

wind bamboo instrument. In Vietnam, Lu are the indigenous people in

Mường Thanh Mường Thanh is a ward (''phường'') of Điện Biên Phủ in Điện Biên Province in northwestern Vietnam. It was a township of Điện Biên District before it was incorporated into Điện Biên Phủ city. Mường Thanh is named aft ...

("Land of the God of

Tai people Tai peoples are the populations who speak (or formerly spoke) the Tai languages. There are a total of about 93 million people of Tai ancestry worldwide, with the largest ethnic groups being Dai, Thais, Isan, Tai Yai (Shan), Lao, Tai Ahom, an ...

", Tai Lü: ''muong theng''). They had built Tam Vạn wall in Mường Thanh and managed there for 19 generations before Hoàng Công Chất, a Thái leader, came. Nowadays, nearly all Vietnamese Lu live in Lai Châu Province. The Lu take their father's last name and have the middle name Bạ (for males) and Ý (for females). Their religion is

Theravada ''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' ...

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

Tai Lü Kingdom

Gallery

File:Tai Lue dance at Wat Nantaram, Phayao (Dec 2021) - IMG 04.jpg, Lu traditional performance at , Chiang Kham District,

File:Lu Woman.png, Lu Woman in Laos, c. 1900. File:Lu woman Laos 01.png, Lu Woman in Laos, c. 1900. File:2013 Wat Nong Bua Thai Lue Buddha.jpg, A Thai Lue Buddha statue in

Wat A wat ( km, វត្ត, ; lo, ວັດ, ; th, วัด, ; khb, 「ᩅᨯ᩠ᨰ」(waD+Dha); nod, 「ᩅ᩠ᨯ᩶」（w+Da2)) is a type of Buddhist temple and Hindu temple in Cambodia, Laos, East Shan State, Yunnan, the Southern Provi ...

Non Bua, Tha Wang Pha District, Thailand File:Thai Lue musician at Wat Nong Bua 01.jpg, A Thai Lue musician plays in the garden of Wat Nong Bua, Tha Wang Pha District, Thailand. File:Wat Nong Daeng 2014 b.jpg, The interior of the wihan of Wat Nong Daeng, Chiang Klang District, Thailand File:MuangSing VatNamKeoLuang1 tango7174.jpg, Vat Nam Keo Luang in

Muang Sing Mueang ( th, เมือง ''mɯ̄ang'', ), Muang ( lo, ເມືອງ ''mɯ́ang'', ; Tai Nuea: ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ''muang''), Mong ( shn, ''mə́ŋ'', ), Meng () or Mường (Vietnamese), were pre-modern semi-independent city-states or principali ...

, Laos File:Muang Sing, Laos2.jpg, The interior of Vat Xieng Chai, Muang Sing, Laos Tai Lue House of Mae Saeng Da เฮือนไตลื้อแม่แสงดา อำเภอเชียงคำ จังหวัดพะเยา - img 03.jpg, A Tai Lue house in Chiang Kham District,

References

External links

Ethnologue entry for Lu
{{Authority control Tai peoples Ethnic groups in Thailand Ethnic groups in Vietnam Ethnic groups in China