Thái, Thai or Tai people (

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

: ''Người Thái'') is officially recognized by the Vietnamese government as one of Vietnam's 54 ethnic groups. They are Tai ethnic groups that speak various

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 ...

and use the

Tai Viet script The Tai Viet script ( Tai Dam: ("Tai script"), Vietnamese: Chữ Thái Việt) ( th, อักษรไทดำ, ) is a Brahmic script used by the Tai Dam people and various other Thai people in Vietnam and Thailand.

. They mostly live in the Northwest Region of

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 ...

and are culturally and linguistically distinguished from other

Tai peoples 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 ...

of Vietnam such as the Nùng and

Tày people The Tày people, also known as the Thô, T'o, Tai Tho, Ngan, Phen, Thu Lao, or Pa Di, are a Central Tai languages, Tai-speaking ethnic group who live in northern Vietnam. According to a 2009 census, there are 1.7 million Tày people living in Vi ...

, who are natives in the Northeast Region. In Vietnam, the ''Thái'' nomenclature is composed of several Tai groups, of which the main groups are the Black Thai (

Tai Dam The Tai Dam ( Tai Dam: , lo, ໄຕດຳ, th, ไทดำ) are an ethnic minority predominantly from China, northwest Vietnam, Laos, Thailand. They are part of the Tai peoples and ethnically similar to the Thai from Thailand, the Lao from ...

, ''Thái Đen''), White Thai ( Tai Don, ''Thái Trắng'') and the Red Thai ( Tai Daeng, ''Thái Đỏ''). The

Tai Lue people The Tai Lü people ( Tai Lue: ᦺᦑᦟᦹᧉ, , ''Dǎi lè'', lo, ລື້, ''Lư̄'', th, ไทลื้อ, , vi, Người Lự) are an ethnic group of China, Laos, Thailand, Burma and Vietnam. They speak a Southwestern Tai language ...

are officially classified as a separated group, called Lự. They mostly speak languages in the Chiang Saen branch of the

Southwestern Tai languages The Southwestern Tai, Southwestern Thai or Thai languages are a branch of the Tai languages of Southeast Asia. Its dialects include Siamese (Central Thai), Lanna, Lao, Shan and others. Classification The internal classification of the Southwe ...

. Thái people in

all originate from

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

. However, they (Thái minorities in Vietnam) are also different from the Thai people of Thailand although they are both related and speak Tai-Kadai languages.

History

The Tai peoples migrated south gradually from

to the region and also to

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

and

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 ...

during a period between the 7th and 13th century. They centered in the valley of

Muang Thaeng Muang Thaeng or Mường Thèn is a legendary Tai peoples, Tai locality believed to be associated with modern-day Mường Thanh Valley in Điện Biên province of Vietnam. In legend, it is the initial settlement of Tai people migrating southw ...

(today's

Điện Biên Phủ Điện Biên Phủ (, meaning: ''Established Frontier Prefecture''), is a city in the northwestern region of Vietnam. It is the capital of Điện Biên Province. The city is best known for the decisive Battle of Điện Biên Phủ, which occ ...

), a place strongly connected to the legend of

Khun Borom Khun Borom ( th, ขุนบรม, ) or Khoun Bourôm ( lo, ຂຸນບູຣົມ, ) is a legendary progenitor of the Southwestern Tai-speaking peoples, considered by the Lao to be the father of their race. Mythology According to the myth ...

. By the 11th century, the Vietnamese chronicle

Đại Việt sử lược The ''Đại Việt sử lược'' ( vi-hantu, 大越史略; lit. ''Abridged Chronicles of Đại Việt'') or ''Việt sử lược'' ( vi-hantu, 越史略; lit. ''Abridged Chronicles of Viet'') is an historical text that was compiled during the ...

recorded the Black Thai had formed a polity in Sơn La called Ngưu Hống (Chinese: ''Heishui''). The kingdom was conquered by the

Lê dynasty The Lê dynasty, also known as Later Lê dynasty ( vi, Hậu Lê triều, chữ Hán: 後黎朝 or vi, nhà Hậu Lê, link=no, chữ Nôm: 茹後黎), was the longest-ruling Vietnamese dynasty, ruling Đại Việt from 1428 to 1789. The Lê ...

and incorporated into

Dai Viet Dai may refer to: Names * Dai (given name), a Welsh or Japanese masculine given name * Dai (surname) (戴), a Chinese surname Places and regimes * Dai Commandery, a commandery of the state of Zhao and in early imperial China * Dai County, in Xinz ...

's territory in the 15th century. Like in other Tai societies, the core social units of the Thái in Vietnam were the

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

(''ban'') and the chiefdom (''

mueang 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 ...

'', Vietnamese: ''mường''), each consisting of several villages and ruled by a ''Chao'' lord. The Thái mainly settled in valleys alongside the course of rivers and cultivate rice. A number of these ''mueang'' in the region grouped together and formed a long-term alliance, called

Sip Song Chau Tai The Sip Song Chau TaiOther spellings include: Sip Song Chau Thai, Sipsong Chuthai, Sipsong Chu Tai, Sip Song Chu Tai, Sipsongchuthai, Sip Song Chu Thai, Sipsong Chau Tai, Sip Song Chao Thai, Sipsong Chao Tai, Sipsongchutai, Sipsong Chao Thai. ("Tw ...

(Twelve Lands of Thai). This federation of ''Sip Song Chau Tai'' maintained political autonomy and had tributary relationship with the regional powers, such as China,

Lan Xang existed as a unified kingdom from 1353 to 1707. For three and a half centuries, Lan Xang was one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia. The meaning of the kingdom's name alludes to the power of the kingship and formidable war machine of the ea ...

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

and the dynasties of Vietnam. In 1841, the

Nguyễn dynasty The Nguyễn dynasty (chữ Nôm: 茹阮, vi, Nhà Nguyễn; chữ Hán: 阮朝, vi, Nguyễn triều) was the last Vietnamese dynasty, which ruled the unified Vietnamese state largely independently from 1802 to 1883. During its existence, ...

established the town of

in the Muang Then Valley as an administrative office (

Phủ Fu () is a traditional administrative division of Chinese origin used in the East Asian cultural sphere, translated variously as commandery, prefecture, urban prefecture, or city. They were first instituted as a regular form of administrative di ...

). This was done for more direct control of the region and to stop bandits who were involved in opium trade. In 1888, Sip Song Chau Tai was incorporated into the French protectorate of

Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled ''Tongkin'', ''Tonquin'' or ''Tongking'', is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain ''Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, includi ...

and became part of

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...

. This was arranged by the French explorer and colonial representative Auguste Pavie who signed a treaty with

Đèo Văn Trị Đèo Văn Trị ( vi-hantu, 刁文持, 1849 – 1908 in Lai Châu) also known as his Lao name Cam Oum (or Khamhum, lo, ຄຳອຸ້ມ), was the White Tai leader at Muang Lay in the Sip Song Chau Tai or Federation of the Twelve Tai stat ...

, the White Thai lord of Muang Lay (

Lai Châu Lai Châu () is a city in the Northwest region of Vietnam. It is the capital city of Lai Châu Province. The city borders Phong Thổ District, Sìn Hồ District và Tam Đường District. History Lai Châu, or Muang Lay (Vietnamese: Mư� ...

) on 7 April 1889. The White Thai fought alongside the French in the

First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...

, against both the communist

Viet Minh The Việt Minh (; abbreviated from , chữ Nôm and Hán tự: ; french: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, ) was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Fro ...

and the nationalist

Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng The Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng (; chữ Hán: ; ), abbreviated VNQDĐ or Việt Quốc, was a nationalist and democratic socialist political party that sought independence from French colonial rule in Vietnam during the early 20th century ...

(VNQDD), In 1948, the French colonial administration declared the Tai Federation (French: Fédération Thaï, Tai: Phen Din Tai, Vietnamese: Khu tự trị Thái) to be an autonomous region. The Federation was disbanded after the

Battle of Dien Bien Phu The Battle of Dien Bien Phu (french: Bataille de Diên Biên Phu ; vi, Chiến dịch Điện Biên Phủ, ) was a climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War that took place between 13 March and 7 May 1954. It was fought between the Fr ...

and the Thái lord Đèo Văn Long went into exile in France.

Distribution

The Tai Dam and the Tai Don mostly live in the provinces of the Northwestern Plateau: Điện Biên,

Sơn La Sơn La (; Tai Dam: ) is a city in the north-west region of Vietnam. It is the capital of Sơn La Province. It is bordered by Thuận Châu District, Mường La District, and Mai Sơn District. History In the era of the Sip Song Chau Tai, Sơ ...

and Hoà Bình. The Tai Daeng are found in western part of Nghệ An and Thanh Hóa province where they are a major ethnic group. According to the 1999 General Survey, there were 1,328,725 Thái people in Vietnam. http://www.gso.gov.vn/default.aspx?tabid=407&idmid=4&ItemID=1346 Kết quả Tổng điều tra dân số năm 1999 In Sơn La, they form a majority in the province (54.8%). They are the largest ethnic group in Điện Biên (38%) and Lai Châu (32.3%). Other groups include the

Phu Thai Phu Thai (Phuu Thai; Thai, Phu Thai: ''Phasa Phuthai'', ภาษาผู้ไท or ภูไท) is a Southwestern Tai language spoken in Laos and Thailand. Although it appears different from the Isan and the Lao languages, it is spoken in ...

in Hà Tĩnh and Nghệ An (population: 200,000),'' Phu Thai.'' In: ''Ethnologue. Languages of the World.'' 17. Auflage, 2014 (Online-Version). the Tay Thanh (Tay Nhai), the Thai Yo and the Tày Đà Bắc in Hòa Bình province.

References

{{Ethnic groups in Vietnam Tai peoples Ethnic groups in Vietnam