Tai Dón people explained

Group:White Tai
Flag:Flag of Tay Khao.png
Flag Caption:Flag of Tai Don people in Muang Lay, used since 1944 to 1953
Pop:490,000
Popplace:Vietnam, Laos
Langs:Tai Dón, Lao, others
Rels:Tai folk religion,[1] Theravada Buddhism, Christianity

White Tai (in Tai Dón, ꪼꪕꪒꪮꪙꫀ, pronounced as /lang=twh/;[2] in Thai language and Lao language Tai Khao; in Vietnamese language Tai Dón or Thái Trắng, in Chinese language Dai Duan) is an ethnic group of Laos, Vietnam and China. In Vietnam they are called Tai Dón or Thái Trắng and are included in the group of the Thái people, together with the Thái Đen ("Black Tai"), Thái Đỏ ("Red Tai"), Phu Thai, Tày Thanh and Thái Hàng Tổng. The group of the Thái people is the third largest of the fifty-four ethnic groups recognized by the Vietnamese government. They emigrated to Vietnam and Laos from Yunnan (China)

Geographic distribution

There are approximately 280,000 White Tai in Vietnam (2002), 200,000 in Laos (1995) and 10,000 in Yunan province, China (1995).[3]

History

See also: Shan people. The White Tai migrated from China to Laos several centuries ago, settling along the Red and Black Rivers.[4] [5]

Language

The White Tai speak a language called Tai Khao, also called Tai Dón. It is a Tai–Kadai language.[4]

Family

Men are the heads of White Tai households, although division of labor is nearly equal.[4]

Religions

The White Tai believe in multiple personal souls and hold ceremonies to recall those souls to strengthen their character.[4]

References

  1. Book: Placzek, Kanittanan, James, Wilaiwan. 1986. Religion, Values, and Development in Southeast Asia . Institute of Southeast Asian Studies . 978-9971-988-20-3. Historical and contemporary meaning of Thai khwan: The use of lexical meaning change as an indicator of cultural change . 146–166. en.
  2. "The White Tai refer to themselves and their language as tay⁴ dɔn², probably because of the white blouses worn by the women. The usual word for 'white' in White Tai is dɔn²" (p. 8). Hudak, T. J. (2008). William J. Gedney’s comparative Tai source book. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press.
  3. http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=twh Tai Dón.
  4. http://www.global12project.com/2004/profiles/p_code2/1048.html The White Tai of Laos
  5. Forbes, Andrew, and Henley, David: Vietnam Past and Present: The North (History and culture of Hanoi and Tonkin). Chiang Mai. Cognoscenti Books, 2012. ASIN: B006DCCM9Q.