Initial States of Thailand - Population

Population

The result of population movements and migrations certainly affected cultural traditions and lifestyles found among the peoples who are to populate the kingdom of Thailand. Therefore the Thai / Sama / Sayam / Siam is the various indigenous peoples, Proto Malayu, Mon, Khmer, Champa, as well as to immigrants from India. In addition, the population also consisted of coastal peoples, some mariners, Chinese, and a host of other minority groups. This important characteristic is “The great variety” of Thai people.

Thai society and culture covered an area far wider than that ruled by the state. Tai peoples refers collectively to the ethnic groups of southern China and Southeast Asia, stretching from Hainan to eastern India and from southern Sichuan to Thailand, that speak the Tai languages and share similar traditions and festivals, including Songkran. Despite never having a unified nation-state of their own, the peoples also share or historically shared a vague idea of a "Siam" nation, corrupted to Shan or Assam in some places, and most self-identify as "Tai". A far more comprehensive list is available in Thai only for this term. For example, 29 ethnic groups & languages are identified as "Tai" in the Thai language version in People's Republic of China alone. Tai peoples include:

  • The Lao of Laos and Northeast Thailand
  • The Northern Thai (Lanna or Thai Yuan) of Thailand
  • The Thai of Thailand (Tai Noi or Little Tai)
  • The Shan (Thai Yai or Big Tai) of Burma
  • The Zhuang of China
  • The Buyei of China
  • The Thai Lue of Laos and China (also called "Dai")
  • The Nung of China, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam
  • The Black Tai (Tai Dam) of Laos and Vietnam
  • The Red Tai (Tai Daeng)
  • The White Tai (Tai Kao)
  • The Tai Dom people of present day North Vietnam
  • The various tribes in Yunnan, China.

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