View source for Northern Thai people

{{Short description|Tai ethnic group}}
{{Redirect|Tai Yuan|the Chinese city|Taiyuan}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Tai Yuan
| image            = [[File:Chan Kusalo cremation 15.jpg|250px]]
| image_caption    = Thai people at a cremation ceremony at [[Wat Chedi Luang]] in [[Chiang Mai]]
| population       = 6 million<ref name=ethno>Lewis, M. Paul (ed.), 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition. [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=nod Entry for Northern Thai] Dallas, Tex.: SIL International.</ref>
| popplace         = {{flagcountry|Thailand}}<br />{{flagcountry|Laos}} ([[Houayxay]], [[Ton Pheung District|Ton Pheung]])<br />{{flagcountry|Myanmar}} ([[Tachileik]], [[Myawaddy]]) 
<br />{{flagcountry|China}} ([[Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture]])
| rels             = [[Theravada|Theravada Buddhism]] and [[Thai folklore|Siamese folk religion]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Placzek, Kanittanan|first=James, Wilaiwan|date=1986|title=Religion, Values, and Development in Southeast Asia |publisher= Institute of Southeast Asian Studies |isbn=   978-9971-988-20-3|chapter=Historical and contemporary meaning of Thai khwan: The use of lexical meaning change as an indicator of cultural change |pages= 146–166|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xat2NiVRZYAC |language=en}}</ref>
| langs            = [[Northern Thai language|Northern Thai]] and [[Thai language|Central Thai]]
| related          = [[Tai peoples]]
| native_name      = {{Script|Lana|ᨤᩫ᩠ᨶᨾᩮᩬᩥᨦ}}<br/>คนเมือง, คนเหนือ
| native_name_lang = 
}}
{{Contains special characters|Lanna}}
[[File:Peopling of Thailand.svg|thumb|Chart shows the peopling of Thailand.|260px]]
The '''Northern Thai people''', also known as '''Tai Yuan'''  ({{langx|th|ไทยวน}}, {{IPA|nod|tʰaj˧ juan˧|}}) or '''Khon Mueang'''  ({{langx|nod|{{Script|Lana|ᨤᩫ᩠ᨶᨾᩮᩬᩥᨦ}}, คนเมือง}} {{IPA|nod|kʰon˧ mɯaŋ˧|pron}}), are a [[Tai peoples|Tai]] [[ethnic group]], native to nine provinces in [[Northern Thailand]], principally in the area of the former kingdom of [[Lan Na]].<ref>See: Forbes, Andrew, 'The Peoples of Chiang Mai', in: Penth, Hans, and Forbes, Andrew, ''A Brief History of Lan Na'' (Chiang Mai City Arts and Cultural Centre, Chiang Mai, 2004), pp. 221-256.</ref> As a [[Tai peoples|Tai]] group, they are closely related to [[Lu people|Tai Lü]] and [[Khün language|Tai Khün]] with regards to common culture, language and history in contrast to Thailand's dominant [[Thai people|Thai]] ethnic group (referred to as ''Siamese'' or ''Central Thai''). There are approximately 6 million Tai Yuan. Most of them live in [[Northern Thailand]], with a small minority 29,442 (2005 census) living across the border in [[Bokeo Province]] of [[Laos]]. Their language is called [[Northern Thai language|Northern Thai]], Lanna or ''Kham Mueang''.

== Exonym and endonym==

=== Endonyms ===
The Northern Thai people refer to themselves as '''''khon muang''''', meaning "people of the (cultivated) land," "people of our community" or "society" (''[[mueang]]'' is a central term in Tai languages that has a broad meaning and is essential to the social structure of Tai peoples). With that name, they historically identified themselves as the inhabitants of the alluvial plains, river valleys and plateaus of their native area, where they lived in local communities, called ''muang'', and cultivated rice on [[paddy fields]]. That distinguished them from the indigenous peoples of the area ("[[hill tribe (Thailand)|hill tribes]]"), like the [[Lawa people|Lua']], who lived in the wooded mountains practicing [[slash-and-burn]] agriculture. Membership of the Northern Thai was therefore defined by lifestyle, rather than genetics. At the same time, it was a term of dissociation from the [[Bamar people|Burmese]] and [[Thai people|Siamese]], who held suzerainty over the Lanna Kingdom for centuries and who were not "people of our ''muang''".<ref name="Turton11">{{Citation |author=Andrew Turton |title=Introduction |work=Civility and Savagery: Social Identity in Tai States |publisher=Curzon Press |place=Richmond, Surrey |year=2000 |page=11}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |author=Cholthira Satyawadhna |chapter=A Comparative Study of Structure and Contradiction in the Austro-Asiatic System of the Thai-Yunnan Periphery |editor=Gehan Wijeyewardene |title=Ethnic Groups Across National Boundaries in Mainland Southeast Asia |publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies |place=Singapore |year=1990 |page=76 |isbn=981-3035-57-9 |quote=There is a well-known Northern Thai saying: ''Lua yea' hai'' The Lua work swiddens ''Tai het na'' The Tai work paddy fields.}}</ref>

For the same reasons, the ''khon muang'' call themselves ''kammuang'' or ''kham muang'' in which ''kam'' means language or word, and ''muang'' means town; hence, the meaning "town language", contrasts those of the many hill tribes in the surrounding mountainous areas.<ref name=Natnapang>{{cite book
 |author      = Natnapang Burutphakdee
 |others      = Asst. Prof. Dr. Kirk R. Person, adviser
 |title       = Khon Muang Neu Kap Phasa Muang
 |trans-title = Attitudes of Northern Thai Youth towards Kammuang and the Lanna Script
 |url         = http://ic.payap.ac.th/graduate/linguistics/theses/Natnapang_Thesis.pdf
 |access-date  = 8 Jun 2013
 |type        = M.A. Thesis
 |series      = Presented at 4th National Symposium on Graduate Research, Chiang Mai, Thailand, August 10–11, 2004
 |date        = October 2004
 |publisher   = [[Payap University]]
 |location    = [[Chiang Mai]]
 |at          = P. 7, digital image 30
 |quote       = The reason why they called this language "Kammuang" is because they used this language in the towns where they lived together, which were surrounded by mountainous areas where there were many hill tribe people.
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20150505040726/http://ic.payap.ac.th/graduate/linguistics/theses/Natnapang_Thesis.pdf
 |archive-date = 2015-05-05
 }}</ref>

=== Exonyms ===
The exonym '''Tai Yuan''' is likely derived from [[Sanskrit]] ''[[yavana]]'' meaning "stranger," which itself comes from the name of the [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] tribe of the [[Ionians]], or from Pali {{IAST|yonaka}}.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Pain |first=Frédéric |date=2008 |title=An Introduction to Thai Ethnonymy: Examples from Shan and Northern Thai |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25608449 |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=128 |issue=4 |pages=641–662 |jstor=25608449 |issn=0003-0279}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |author=Frederic Pain |title=An introduction to Thai ethnonymy: examples from Shan and Northern Thai |journal=The Journal of the American Oriental Society |year=2008 |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/An+introduction+to+Thai+ethnonymy%3A+examples+from+Shan+and+Northern...-a0214480325}}</ref> In everyday speech, "Tai" prefixed to some location is understood as meaning "[[Tai peoples|Tai person]]" of that place.<ref name="Raendchen">{{cite conference |last=Raendchen |first=Jana |date=October 10, 2005 |title=The socio-political and administrative organisation of müang in the light of Lao historical manuscripts |url=http://laomanuscripts.net/downloads/literaryheritageoflaos31_raendchen_en.pdf |conference=The Literary Heritage of Laos Conference, 2005 |location=Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin Preußischer Kulturbesitz |publisher=Digital Library of Lao Manuscripts |at=image 4, page 404 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104074758/http://laomanuscripts.net/downloads/literaryheritageoflaos31_raendchen_en.pdf |archive-date=2013-11-04 |access-date=September 12, 2013 |quote=Traditionally, these people called themselves according to the place of their settlement, combining the term "Tai" (man) with the place name, as for example Tai Müang Phuan, Tai Müang Swa (Luang Phabang). |conference-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104074845/http://laomanuscripts.net/en/resources/papers#1 |book-title=The Literary Heritage of Laos: Preservation, Dissemination and Research Perspectives, Vientiane: National Library of Laos}}</ref> Predecessors to the term "Yuan" were used by the [[Chams]], [[Vietnamese people|Vietnamese]], and [[Khmer people|Khmer]] as exonyms for other ethnic groups in the region.<ref name=":1" /> The Khmer form is still used today, as a pejorative exonym for the Vietnamese.<ref name=":1" /> The Burmese historically referred to the Northern Thai people as the '''Yun''' ({{Linktext|ယွန်း}}), which in turn is now the Burmese word for "[[lacquerware]]."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Prompanya |first=Nittayaporn |date=2019 |title=Phongsawadan Yonok: The Creation of a Modern Northern Thai Chronicle |journal=Journal of Liberal Arts |volume=19 |issue=2 |quote=The terms Yuan, Yon, Yonok, and Yun hold two main meanings: the first refers to the Mueang in the Chiang Rai basin that were united by Mengrai into the Yon domain or Yon State. The second meaning of Yon or Yuan refers to a group of Thai people. In the past, the Siamese Thai called the northern Thai people Yuan, while the Burmese called them Yon. In addition, Chiang Mai people were called Yon Chiang Mai}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hall |first=D. G. E. |url=https://mission.itu.ch/MISSIONS/Myanmar/Burma/bur_history.pdf |title=Burma |publisher=Hutchinson and Company |year=1960 |isbn=978-1-4474-8790-6 |edition=3rd |location=London |language=en |quote=The deportations brought crowds of skilled craftsmen into Burma, and it is thought that the finer sort of Burmese lacquerware, called yun, was introduced during this period by deported artisans belonging to the Yun or Laos Shan tribes of the Chiengmai region.}}</ref>

The British colonial rulers in neighbouring Burma (now [[Myanmar]]) referred to them as ''Siamese Shan'' to distinguish them from the [[Shan people|Shan]] proper, whom they called ''Burmese Shan''.<ref>{{Citation |author=Andrew Turton |title=Violent Capture of People for Exchange on Karen-Tai borders in the 1830s |work=Structure of Slavery in Indian Ocean Africa and Asia |page=73 |year=2004 |place=London |publisher=Frank Cass |author-link=Andrew Turton}}</ref> 

Until the 20th century, the Siamese considered Northern Thais to be "Lao", due to linguistic and cultural differences,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kirigaya |first=Ken |date=2015 |title=Lan Na under Burma: A "Dark Age" in Northern Thailand? |journal=Journal of the Siam Society |volume=103 |pages=290 |quote=In the early 20th century the Lan Na people still “felt little in common with the Siamese, who felt likewise about their northern neighbors”. The Central Thai were culturally and linguistically remote from the Tai Yuan, whom they called “Lao” in the past, finding little difference between the two Tai brethrens.}}</ref> or more specifically as ''Lao phung dam'', or black-bellied [[Lao people|Lao]] because of their tradition of tattooing their abdomens (''phung''), which contrasted with the Lao to their east, who did not have that custom.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Volker Grabowsky |title=Regions and National Integration in Thailand, 1892-1992 |date=1995 |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |isbn=978-3-447-03608-5 |page=154}}</ref> According to [[Jit Bhumisak]], a prominent Thai historian, Northern Thais consider themselves Tai-Thai and do not refer to themselves as Lao. That is reflected in various inscriptions in which the term "Thai-Tai" is used to refer to themselves. The term "Lao" is seen as an insult by Northern Thais, as it is associated with a savage and uncivilized culture. Therefore, the use of the term ''Khon Muang'' is a way for Northern Thais to assert their distinct identity and cultural heritage and to distance themselves from the negative connotations of the term "Lao".

The Northern Thais also call Central Thais "Thai" and add the word "South" to refer to Southern Thais or "Southerners." However, they do not use the term Tai/Thai to refer to other ethnicities that interact more closely with La Nna society, such as [[Tai Yai]], Tai Khoen, [[Tai Lue people|Tai Lue]] people, which reflects the fact that they see themselves and those ethnic groups as distinct entities.<ref>{{cite web|lang=th|url=https://www.the101.world/lanna-history-7/|title=คนล้านนาเป็นไท/ไทย แต่กลายเป็นลาวเพราะการยัดเยียด|author=Parit Chiwarak|date=March 16, 2023|website=the101.world}}</ref>

== History ==
=== Origin ===
{{further|Tai peoples}}
[[File:Tai Migration.svg|260px|thumb|right|Map showing linguistic family tree overlaid on a geographic distribution map of Tai-Kadai family. This map only shows general pattern of the migration of Tai-speaking tribes, not specific routes, which would have snaked along the rivers and over the lower passes.<ref>Baker, Chris and Phongpaichit, Pasuk (2017). "[https://books.google.com/books?id=GHiuDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA27 A History of Ayutthaya]", p. 27. ''Cambridge University Press''.</ref>]]
According to a shared legend amongst various [[Tai peoples]], a possibly-mythical king, [[Khun Borom]] Rachathiriat of [[Mueang Then]] begot several sons that settled and ruled other [[mueang]], or city-states, across [[Southeast Asia]] and southern [[China]].<ref>Eliot Joshua ''et al''. (2002). ''Laos Handbook''. London: Footprint Publishers.</ref> Descended from ancient peoples known to the Chinese as the [[Baiyue|Yue]] and the Ai Lao, the Tai tribes began migrating into South-East Asia by the beginning of the 1st millennium, but large-scale migrations took place between the 7th and the 13th centuries AD, especially from what is now [[Sipsongbanna]], [[Yunnan Province]] and [[Guangxi]]. The possible reasons for Tai migration include pressures from [[Han Chinese]] expansion, [[Mongol invasions]], finding suitable land for wet rice cultivation and the fall of the states in which the Tais inhabited.<ref>Edmondson, J. A. (2007). The power of language over the past: tai settlement and tai linguistics in southern china and northern vietnam. Harris, J. G., Burusphat, S., Harris, J. (ed). Studies in southeast asian linguistics. Bangkok: Ek Phim Thai Co. Ltd.</ref><ref>Church, P. (ed). (2006). A short history of South-East Asia. Vol. XII. Singapore: John Wiley and Sons Asia.</ref>
<
According to linguistic and other historical evidence, Tai-speaking tribes migrated southwestward to the modern territories of Laos and Thailand from [[Guangxi]] sometime between the 8th and the 10th centuries.<ref name="PittayawatPittayaporn">[http://www.manusya.journals.chula.ac.th/files/essay/Pittayawat%2047-68.pdf Pittayaporn, Pittayawat (2014). Layers of Chinese Loanwords in Proto-Southwestern Tai as Evidence for the Dating of the Spread of Southwestern Tai] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150627063518/http://www.manusya.journals.chula.ac.th/files/essay/Pittayawat%2047-68.pdf |date=27 June 2015 }}. ''MANUSYA: Journal of Humanities'', Special Issue No 20: 47–64.</ref> The Tai assimilated or pushed out indigenous [[Austroasiatic]] [[Mon–Khmer]] peoples, and settled on the fringes of the [[Indianized kingdoms]] of the [[Mon people|Mon]] and [[Khmer Empire]]. The blending of peoples and the influx of Indian philosophy, religion, language, culture and customs via and alongside some [[Austroasiatic]] element enriched the culture of the Tai peoples, but the Tais remained in contact with the other Tai [[mueang]].<ref>Wyatt, D. K., (2003).</ref>

The presence of the Yuan in what is now northern Thailand has been documented since the 11th century. The core of their original settlement area lies in the basin of the [[Kok River|Kok]] and [[Ing River|Ing]] rivers in what is now [[Chiang Rai province]]. Since the Yuan, like other Tai peoples, traditionally live from wet rice cultivation, they settled only in the river plains of northern Thailand, not in the mountain ranges that run through it and make up three quarters of the area. They formed small-scale principalities ([[Mueang]]). The geography of the settlement area prevented the formation of larger communities.<ref name="g66">Grabowsky: ''Bevölkerung und Staat in Lan Na.'' 2004, S. 66.</ref>

=== Kingdom of Hiran ===
The [[Ngoenyang|Kingdom of Hiran]] was a state formed in the 7th century AD in what is now northern Thailand. There are no written records of Hiran prior to the reign of King [[Mangrai]], the founder and ruler of Lan na from 1296 to 1317. In the 8th century, the city of Yonok was founded in the area of today's [[Chiang Saen district]] by subjugating the pre-existing [[Khmu people|Khmu]] and [[Lawa people|Lawa]] populations.<ref name=schlesinger1>{{cite book|title=Schlesinger, 2015. Vol 1}}.</ref> After the city of Yonok was destroyed in an earthquake, the Tai Yuan rebuilt the city at Vieng Prueksa in present-day [[Mae Sai district]] (Chiang Rai Province), where they formed an elected monarchy. Vieng Prueksa came under the sphere of influence of the [[Lavo Kingdom]], now [[Lopburi]], which was a vassal state of the Khmer state of [[Chenla]].

The king of Lavo forced the accession to the throne of Lawachangkarat, who became ruler of the new kingdom in 638 and changed the name of the capital to Hiran. Around the year 850, the seventh king of Hiran, Laokiang, had Yonok rebuilt on the current site of [[Chiang Saen]], which took the name of Ngoenyang and became the new capital. From then on, the Kingdom of Hiran was called the Kingdom of Ngoenyang and expanded significantly, subsequently by occupying the Laotian territories of Meuang Sua and Mueang Theng, today's [[Luang Prabang]] and [[Dien Bien Phu]].

=== Independent state of Lan Na ===
[[Mangrai]], the ruler of ''Mueang'' [[Ngoenyang]], united a number of these principalities after his accession to the throne around 1259 and founded the city of [[Chiang Rai]] in 1263. Around 1292 he conquered the [[Mon people|Mon]] kingdom of [[Hariphunchai]], which had dominated large parts of what is now northern Thailand in political, economic and cultural terms. That laid the foundation for the new [[Kingdom of Lan Na]] ("One Million Rice Fields") when its capital, Mangrai, founded [[Chiang Mai]] in 1296. The remaining ''Mueang'', which were dependent on Lan Na, retained their own dynasties and extensive autonomy, but had to swear loyalty to the king and pay tribute ([[Mandala (political model)|mandala model]]). Lan Na was ethnically very heterogeneous and the Northern Thai did not constitute the majority of the population in large parts of their domain.<ref>Grabowsky: ''Bevölkerung und Staat in Lan Na.'' 2004, S. 89.</ref>
[[File:Wat Chiang Man.jpg|thumb|Wat Chiang Man, the first temple constructed in Chiang Mai (in 1297), a typical example of Lanna art]]

However, the different cultures converged, so the originally [[Animism|animist]] and illiterate Tai Yuan adopted their religion, [[Theravada Buddhism]], and their writing system from the Mon of Hariphunchai (the [[Tai Tham script]] is developed from the [[Old Mon script]]).<ref>Grabowsky: ''Bevölkerung und Staat in Lan Na.'' 2004, S. 90.</ref> As a result, a common identity among the peoples of Lan Na became increasingly common in the 14th century, and the non-Tai peoples largely assimilated to the Tai Yuan.<ref>Grabowsky: ''Bevölkerung und Staat in Lan Na.'' 2004, S. 94.</ref> Anyone who integrated themselves into the communities in the river valleys and plains ''(Mueang)'' was regarded as Tai, regardless of ethnic origin, hence the self-designation ''Khon Mueang''. Only the indigenous peoples such as the [[Lawa people|Lawa]], who lived outside the ''Mueang'' in the highlands of the mountains and practiced [[slash-and-burn]] agriculture, were not included. They were grouped together by the Tai as ''kha''. Ethnicity was defined less by descent than by way of life.<ref name="Turton11"/><ref>Cholthira Satyawadhna: ''A Comparative Study of Structure and Contradiction in the Austro-Asiatic System of the Thai-Yunnan Periphery.'' In: ''Ethnic Groups Across National Boundaries in Mainland Southeast Asia.'' Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapur 1990, S. 76.</ref>

The Tai Yuan had very close ties with the Lao kingdom of [[Lan Xang]]. In 1546, [[Setthathirath]], a Lao prince, was elected king of Lan Na.<ref>Grabowsky: ''Bevölkerung und Staat in Lan Na.'' 2004, S. 61.</ref> By the middle of the 15th century, at the latest, they had the technology to manufacture and use cannons and fireworks rockets.<ref>Grabowsky: ''Bevölkerung und Staat in Lan Na.'' 2004, S. 106.</ref> The expansion of the sphere of influence of Lan Na reached a climax in the second half of the 15th century under King [[Tilokaraj|Tilok]]. The sphere of interest of Lan Na clashed with that of the central Thai kingdom of [[Ayutthaya Kingdom|Ayutthaya]], which resulted in several wars over the ''Mueang'' of [[Sukhothai (city)|Sukhothai]], [[Phitsanulok]] and [[Kamphaeng Phet]], that lied between the two kingdoms.<ref>Grabowsky: ''Bevölkerung und Staat in Lan Na.'' 2004, S. 99–102.</ref>

The first decades of the 16th century are considered to be the heyday of the Lan Na literature. The classical works of the time, however, were written not in the native language of the Tai Yuan but in the scholarly language of [[Pali]].<ref>Grabowsky: ''Bevölkerung und Staat in Lan Na.'' 2004, S. 103.</ref> At the same time, however, Ayutthaya was expanding north and Siamese troops penetrated deep into the Yuan-inhabited area of Lan Na. The fighting was extremely costly, and a number of high-ranking generals and nobles of the Yuan perished. In addition to the population losses of men of armed age as a result of the war, much of the population also fell victim to natural disasters and epidemics around 1520, which initiated the decline of Lan Na.<ref>Grabowsky: ''Bevölkerung und Staat in Lan Na.'' 2004, S. 107.</ref> In 1558, Lan Na came under the rule of the Burmese [[Taungoo dynasty]] ([[Kingdom of Ava]]).

As there was often a shortage of labour in pre-modern Southeast Asia, it was customary after wars to drag parts of the population of the defeated party to the area of the victor. In the 17th century, after the subjugation of Lan Na by the Burmese, some Tai Yuan were brought to their capital [[Inwa|Ava]], where they belonged to the category of royal servants and provided lacquerware.<ref>Grabowsky: ''Bevölkerung und Staat in Lan Na.'' 2004, S. 31–32.</ref> The Burmese control over the Tai Yuan increased the differences between them and the Siamese in Ayutthaya.

Nevertheless, after the fall of Ayutthaya, the Tai Yuan nobility of Lan Na entered into an alliance with King [[Taksin]] of [[Thonburi Kingdom|Thonburi]] (the new Siamese kingdom) and, with his support, shook off Burmese supremacy in 1774, but that  was immediately replaced by that of the Siamese (from 1782 under the [[Chakri dynasty]] and with the capital of Bangkok). After [[Burmese–Siamese War (1802–1805)|conquering Chiang Saen in 1804]], the last Burmese outpost in what is now Thailand, the Siamese deported thousands of Tai Yuan residents to the Siamese heartland, the [[Chao Phraya River|Chao Phraya Basin]] of central Thailand. As a result, a significant number of Tai Yuan still live in the provinces of [[Ratchaburi Province|Ratchaburi]] and [[Saraburi Province|Saraburi]], where in the [[Sao Hai District]] an enclave with a Tai Yuan majority still exists.<ref>Grabowsky: ''Bevölkerung und Staat in Lan Na.'' 2004, S. 264 ff.</ref>

=== Annexation into Rattanakosin Kingdom or Kingdom of Siam ===
Until the 19th century, Lan Na retained its own structure and autonomy in internal affairs within the Siamese dominion. Its inhabitants were considered western [[Lao people|Lao]] (or "black-bellied Lao" because of the tradition of male Tai Yuan to tattoo themselves above the hips),<ref>Grabowsky: ''Bevölkerung und Staat in Lan Na.'' 2004, S. 267.</ref> However, Lanna never called themselves Lao and did not like Siam calling them Lao. but not as Siamese. As recently as the 1980s, the government of Laos referred to the Tai Yuan-inhabited provinces of northern Thailand as their "[[irridentism|lost territories]]".<ref name="Grabo95_S125">Volker Grabowsky: ''The Isan up to its Integration into the Siamese State.'' In: ''Regions and National Integration in Thailand 1892–1992.'' Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden 1995, S. 125.</ref> The Siamese King [[Chulalongkorn|Rama V]] (Chulalongkorn) wrote in 1883 to his high commissioner in Chiang Mai about the Tai Yuan, which he called "Lao":<ref>Grabowsky: ''Bevölkerung und Staat in Lan Na.'' 2004, S. 197.</ref>

{{quote|We consider Chiang Mai as still not belonging to the Kingdom proper because it still is a ''prathetsarat'' (i. e. tributary state), but we do not plan to destroy the (ruling) families and to abandon ''prathetsarat'' (status). We only want to maintain and hold to the real power; that is to say whatever will be, let it be only that which we allow it to be.... To put it briefly, we want the Lao to be like a machine which we will wheel forward or backward as we wish... but it is necessary to do this with a brain and intelligence more than power and force. Do not let the Lao think that it is force and oppression. (You) must point out what is beneficial and what is not. |author=King Rama V (Chulalongkorn) |source=Letter to Phraya Ratchasampharakon, 12 July 1883<ref>Quoted in {{Cite book |author=Prakai Nontawasee |title=Changes in Northern Thailand and the Shan States, 1886-1940 |publisher=Southeast Asian Studies Program, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies |year=1988 |page=71}}</ref>}}

After Siam had to cede what is now Laos to France in 1893, the Thai government stopped designating the Lao and Tai Yuan living in Thailand as Lao to avoid justifying further expansion of the [[French protectorate of Laos]].<ref name="Grabo95_S125"/> Lan Na lost its independence in 1899, when the administrative reform under King Rama V (Chulalongkorn) introduced the centralised ''[[monthon|thesaphiban]]''-system. Chulalongkorn's son [[Vajiravudh|Rama VI]] (Vajiravudh), who ruled from 1905, endeavoured to turn the population of his empire into a nation and Thailand into a [[nation state]]. There was less and less differentiation between Siamese, Lao or Tai Yuan, and there was increasingly talk of the Thai nation.<ref>Jana Raendchen: ''Thai Concepts of Minority Policy. National Integration and Rural Development in North-East Thailand.'' In: ''Ethnic minorities and politics in Southeast Asia.'' Peter Land, 2004, S. 172.</ref> Vajiravudh strove to unite the different tribes under one dominant culture.<ref>Volker Grabowsky: ''Kleine Geschichte Thailands.'' C.H. Beck, 2010, S. 147.</ref> During the Monthon reforms of the north region at the turn of the 20th century, the region of Lanna was assigned to ''Monthon Phayap'' ({{lang|th|มณฑลพายัพ}}) from the [[Sanskrit]] word for "northwest".<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url= http://www.thai-language.com/id/140203 |title= พายัพ |editor= Glenn Slayden |date=  29 Sep 2013 |format= Dictionary |work= Royal Institute Dictionary - 1982 |publisher=  Thai-language.com |access-date=  2013-09-29 |quote= Royal Institute - 1982 พายัพ  /พา-ยับ/ {Sanskrit: วายวฺย ว่า ของวายุ} [นาม] ชื่อทิศตะวันตกเฉียงเหนือ.}}</ref>

This policy of [[Thaification]] was intensified after the [[Siamese revolution of 1932|end of the absolute monarchy in 1932]] and the takeover of power by [[Plaek Phibunsongkhram]] in 1938. Phibunsongkhram decreed in 1939 that from now on, the country should be called only Thailand and its inhabitants only Thai. He forbade any ethnic or regional differentiation. The [[Tai Tham script|Lanna script]] was subsequently repressed in favour of the [[Thai alphabet]]. The use of the central Thai dialect was also promoted in the north in displace the [[Northern Thai language|Lanna language]]. As a result, many Thais cannot distinguish between citizenship ''(san-chat)'' and ethnicity or origin ''(chuea-chat)''.<ref>Thak Chaloemtiarana: ''Thailand. The Politics of Despotic Paternalism.'' Cornell Southeast Asia Program, 2007, S. 246.</ref> The Lanna script formerly in use by northern Thai people is also called Tai Tham script. The effects of Thaification in the wake of Monthon reforms have caused few northern Thai to be able to read or write it, as it no longer represents accurately the orthography of the spoken form.<ref name=Natnapang/>

=== Contemporary history ===
Despite the Thaification policies, the Tai Yuan have retained their own cultural identity even if that is now mostly referred to as Northern Thai) The Tai Yuan have their own dance tradition, and a [[Thai cuisine#Northern shared dishes|cuisine]] very different from that of central Thailand. Even if almost all residents of northern Thailand understand and can speak the standard Thai language, which is compulsory in schools, most of them still speak the Northern Thai language at home. However, since 1985 the use of the language has declined. Since then, the younger generations have used the Northern Thai language less and less and so the language was to be expected to disappear in the medium term.<ref>Thanet Charoenmuang: ''When the Young Cannot Speak their Own Mother Tongue. Explaining a Legacy of Cultural Domination of Cultural Domination in Lan Na.'' In: ''Regions and National Integration in Thailand 1892–1992.'' 1995, S. 82 ff.</ref>

On the other hand, there has been a renaissance of Lanna culture since the mid-1990s. Especially around the 700th anniversary of Chiang Mai in 1996, a great pride in its own history and tradition could be established. At [[Chiang Mai University]] in particular, a number of scholars are dedicated to researching traditions and cultivating cultural heritage. Since then, some Northern Thai women, mainly the middle and upper classes, have been wearing the classic dresses of the north again on special occasions, made of hand-made cotton. In many public institutions and government agencies it is customary to wear clothes made of traditional textiles on Fridays. There are regular performances of Lan Na music and dance, as well as demonstrations of traditional handicrafts. As an expression of the own regional character, signs with lettering in Lanna script are again being set up in some places.<ref>Charles F. Keyes: ''Cultural Diversity and National Identity in Thailand'' In: ''Government policies and ethnic relations in Asia and the Pacific.'' MIT Press, 1997, S. 215f.</ref><ref>Pinkaew Laungaramsri: ''Ethnicity and the politics of ethnic classification in Thailand.'' In: ''Ethnicity in Asia.'' RoutledgeCurzon, London/ New York 2003, S. 163.</ref><ref>Rebecca Sue Hall: ''Of Merit and Ancestors. Buddhist Banners of Northern Thailand and Laos.'' Dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles 2008, S. 69–71.</ref>

==Culture==
===Language===
[[File:Chiang Mai Thailand Chiang-Mai-University Main-Library-01.jpg|thumb|The Tai Tham or Lanna script, featured on a sign of the Chiang Mai University]]
The Tai Yuan speak the [[Northern Thai language]], also known as Kham Mueang and Lanna, which is like Lao and Thai one of the [[Tai languages]]. Northern Tai is similar to the [[Tai Lue language]], which is mainly located in the south of [[Yunnan]] but also present in the northern areas of [[Vietnam]], Thailand, Myanmar and Laos, and to the [[Khün language]], located in the eastern part of the [[Shan State]] of Myanmar.

The Northern Tai language has its own writing system, the [[Tai Tham script]], which is also called the Lanna script. The script is still taught to Lao Buddhist monks. After being banned from schools as part of the [[thaification]] process, the script has recently been rediscovered by the population. It is believed by the Tai Yuan that the script has divine powers, and tattoos and amulets written in Tai Tham are thought to possess particular powers.

===Religion===
[[File:Wat Chet Yot 14 vihan B Nagas and Makaras.JPG|thumb|[[Nāga]]s and [[Makara]]s in front of a [[Vihara|Wihan]] of the [[Wat Chet Yot]] in Chiang Mai (established in the 15th century under King Tilokaraj). Mythological creatures used as decoration for stairs are typical of the classical Lan Na architecture.]]
The Tai Yuan have practiced [[Theravada Buddhism]] for several centuries. Chiang Mai is historically one of the places where Lanna sacred art has developed the most, with ancient temples and [[Buddha]] sculptures. In Laos, religious practices have returned to normal after the obstacles posed by the communist government in the first years after the seizure of power in 1975. Traditionally the Tai Yuan, like most Tai peoples, have remained clinging to their [[Tai folk religion|animist roots]]. Small sanctuaries dedicated to this belief scattered throughout the territory are still frequented by devotees who ask for the protection of the spirits. Many of the private gardens also have a spirit house which is stocked daily with votive offerings.

A widespread cult among the Tai Yuan is that of the spirit of [[Chao Luang Kham Daeng]], which is passed down through two legends. The first describes him as a human being sent by the god [[Indra]] to become king and teach Buddhist precepts to his subjects. In this capacity he founded the city Lanna, became its ruler and on his death he was placed by the citizens of Chiang Mai at the helm of the protective spirits of the city. The second legend reports that Chao Luang Kham Daeng is the lord of the [[ogre]]s who guard the treasure of the sacred cave of Chiang Dao. It is assumed that the second legend comes from the tradition of the [[Lawa people]], the people that had settled in the Chiang Mai area before its foundation and the arrival of the Tai Yuan.<ref name=khamdaeng>[http://www.manusya.journals.chula.ac.th/files/essay/Nittaya_p.87-104.pdf ''Dynamics of power of space in the Tai-Yuan Chao Luang Kham Daeng spirit cult''],  manusya.journals.chula.ac.th</ref>

<gallery>
File:Thailand lacquerware.JPG|Lacquerware from Chiang Mai
File:Seung.jpg|Traditional Northern Thai musical instruments
File:Lanna cuisine starters.JPG|A selection of typical starters of Lanna cuisine
File:Thai dancer Chiang Mai 2005 003.jpg|A traditional Tai Yuan dance, ฟ้อนเล็บ
</gallery>

==See also==
* ''[[Jinakalamali]]''
* [[Kham Mueang]]
* [[Lan Na]]
* [[Lanna script]]
* [[Shan people]]
* [[Tai people]]
* [[Thai people]]
* [[Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture|Sibsongbanna]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite book |author1=Andrew Forbes |author2=David Henley |title=Khon Muang: People and Principalities of North Thailand |publisher=Teak House Books |place=Bangkok and Chiang Mai |year=1997}}
* {{Cite book |editor=Volker Grabowsky |title=Regions and National Integration in Thailand 1892–1992 |publisher=Harrassowitz Verlag |place=Wiesbaden |year=1995 |isbn=3-447-03608-7}}
* {{Cite book |author=Akiko Iijima |title=The Nyuan in Xayabury and Cross-border Links to Nan: Laos Historiography at the Crossroads |publisher=NIAS Press |place=Copenhagen |year=2003 |isbn=87-91114-02-0 |pages=165–180}}
* {{Cite book |author=Andrew C. Shahriari |title=Khon Muang Music and Dance Traditions in Northern Thailand |publisher=White Lotus |place=Chiang Mai |year=2007}}

{{Ethnic groups in Thailand}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ethnic groups in Thailand|Yuan]]
[[Category:Tai peoples|Yuan]]