Dai People - The Tai Yong

The Tai Yong

In the 19th Buddhist century Chao Sunanda, son of the ruler of Jinghong, led a following of Tai Lue from Jinghong to Yong in present-day Shan State to rule over the original inhabitants, the Lawa. They were aided by the following factors:

Assimilating beliefs and customs and the arrival of a unifying Buddhist religion in a later period

Family ties with and a tributary system to the city-states of Jinghong and Kengtong, and the building of official alliances with clusters of city-states around Chiang Rai on the banks of the Mekong, such as Chiang Saen and Chiang Khong.

Given this history, the Tai Yong are thus closely related to the Tai Lue. In Thailand, these people are still known as Tai Yong, as distinct from the Tai Khoen of Kengtung (Kyaingtong) and the Tai Yai of Shan state generally. The term Shan is generally not used in Thai.