The Katang (Kataang) ( lo, ຊົນເຜົ່າກະຕາງ; ) are an ethnic group predominantly living in Laos. A few live elsewhere in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

. In 2015 there were 144,255 living in Laos, making them one of the largest subgroups of the

Lao Theung The Lao Theung or Lao Thoeng (Lao: ລາວເທິງ ) is one of the traditional divisions of ethnic groups living in Laos (the others being the Lao Loum and the Lao Soung). It literally indicates the "midland Lao", and comprises a variety o ...

and one of the largest ''true'' ethnic groups in the country. Most live in the southern provinces of

Savannakhet Savannakhet (ສະຫວັນນະເຂດ), officially named Kaysone Phomvihane ( lo, ໄກສອນ ພົມວິຫານ; th, ไกสอน พมวิหาน) since 2005 and previously known as ''Khanthaboury'' (ຄັນທະ ...

, Saravan, and Champasak.

Culture

They are one of the few

people that do not live in houses on stilts or in trees, but rather in long wooden houses. Whenever a Katang man marries a woman, he will add a room to the house for his new family. One of these wooden longhouses is 328 feet long and tourists can still see it just north of Saravan City. Another old Katang tradition for both men and women is to pierce their ears and put a bamboo tube in the hole to stretch out their lobes. This tradition has all but died out. The Katang engage in

crop rotation Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of different types of crops in the same area across a sequence of growing seasons. It reduces reliance on one set of nutrients, pest and weed pressure, and the probability of developing resistant ...

as their common agricultural practice. Many Katang also engage in irrigation and

slash-and-burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed veget ...

agriculture. Most Katang follow old ethnic beliefs and many people who do this also follow

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

. Some Buddhist festivals are commonly celebrated by the Katang. Traditional Katang animism includes a belief in many forest spirits and many taboos meant to avoid disturbing them have developed over the centuries. One of the most revered spirits includes the house spirit which is said to inhabit every house.

References

{{Ethnic groups in Laos Ethnic groups in Laos