Mythologies of the Tai Lue People
The Tai Lü people (Tai Lue: ᦺᦑᦟᦹᧉ, Chinese: 傣仂, Dǎi lè, Lao: ລື້, Lư̄, Thai: ไทลื้อ, RTGS: Thai Lue, Vietnamese: Người Lự) are an ethnic group of China, Laos, Thailand, Burma and Vietnam. They speak a Southwestern Tai language. The word Lü (ລື້) is similar to the Lao people in the Tai Lü language. Tai Lü can be written as Tai Lue, Dai Le and Dai Lue. They are also known as Xishuangbanna Dai, Sipsongpanna Tailurian and Tai Sipsongpanna. The word Lue (Thai: เหนือ Tai Lue: ᦟᦹᧉ) in the Tai languages means "north", thus their ethnonym means Northern Tai which they share with Tai Nua people.
Tai Lue (New Tai Lü: ᦅᧄᦺᦑᦟᦹᧉ, Tai Tham: ᨣᩴᩣᨴᩱᩭᩃᩧ᩶, kam tai lue, [kâm.tâj.lɯ̀]) or Xishuangbanna Dai is a Tai language of the Lu people, spoken by about 700,000 people in Southeast Asia. This includes 280,000 people in China (Yunnan), 200,000 in Burma, 134,000 in Laos, 83,000 in Thailand and 4,960 in Vietnam. The language is similar to other Tai languages and is closely related to Kham Mueang or Tai Yuan, which is also known as Northern Thai language. In Yunnan, it is spoken in all of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, as well as Jiangcheng Hani and Yi Autonomous County in Pu'er City. In Vietnam, Tai Lue speakers are officially recognised as the Lự ethnic minority, although in China they are classified as part of the Dai people, along with speakers of the other Tai languages apart from Zhuang. Tai Lue has 21 syllable-initial consonants, 9 syllable-finals and six tones (three different tones in checked syllables, six in open syllables).
The Tai Lue or Lue people are an ethnic group, living in China, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam. Their name also sometimes spelt as Tai Lü or Dai Lue. The Chinese knew them as Pa-Yi or Shui Pa-Yi, “water barbarians” but now they call them “Dai”. They come from Xishuangbanna district in Yunnan province, China. This area used to be known as Sipsongpanna. It means Twelve (sipsong) township (pan) and rice fields (na). Eleven of these communities (Muang) are situated on the west bank of the Mekong River. The twelfth, Muang Sing, is located in west Laos. At least around 280,000 Lue people still live in Xishuangbanna (2000). In Laos, there were 126,229 Lue people in 2015, according to the census. There are about 83,000 Lue people living in Thailand. Vietnam has a small Lue population of around 5,601 in Lai Chau province, North-West Vietnam (2009). The Lue people in Myanmar number about 60,000 (2013). In the US there are about 4,000 Lue people (1998). The Tai Lue language belongs to the Tai-Kadai language group. There are more than 50 languages in this group. I found that the Tai-Kadai language group once was considered part of the larger Sino-Tibetan or Austro-Thai language families but now is considered an independent family. There are two orthographies. The traditional one has been used for many centuries. Among speakers in Thailand and Laos there is little knowledge of the script, except when the traditional script is preserved in the monasteries. The traditional script is similar to the Lanna script of Northern Thailand. It has a more distant similarity to Thai and Lao writing.
The Tai Lue are the Tai-speaking inhabitants of Sipsongpanna. (This name is written "Xishuangbanna" in Pinyin; when the status of the prefecture as part of the People's Republic of China is being referred to here it will be written in its Pinyin form, and when the Tai sociopolitical unit is the important issue it will be written in romanized Tai. It should also be mentioned that "Dai" is the Pinyin form of "Tai," which is the conventional spelling in English. There is no difference in pronunciation.) Sipsongpanna means "the twelve thousand fields" or "the twelve principalities." The extent of the kingdom varied over time, but in the precolonial period it included Muang Sing, now in Laos, and parts of the Tai-speaking areas of Myanmar (Burma). Today, however, there are Lue communities throughout northern Thailand, and it is not easy to make distinctions between the Lue and the Yorng and Khoen of Myanmar. There is now also a sizable Lue population in Taiwan. The term "Tai" is used for all Tai-speaking peoples. In the southwestern part of Yunnan these are mainly the Lue and the people known variously as Tai Nuea (Northern Tai), Chinese Shans, Tai Khorn, and Tai Mao. There is considerable difference between the Tai Lue and Tai Nuea languages and they should be considered mutually unintelligible.
The Tai Lue are part of the official Dai nationality in China. Although the name "Tai" is said with a "t" sound, the Chinese pronounce it as "Dai." The Tai Lue possess an ancient script, still used by Buddhists in the region. This profile refers to the Shui (Water) Dai in China who speak a different language from the Han Tai and Huayao Tai. By the ninth century AD, the Tai Lue had a well-developed agricultural system. They used oxen and elephants to till the land and constructed extensive irrigation systems.
Tai Lue is a Southwestern Tai language spoken in China, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar by about 555,760 people. There are about 280,000 speakers of Tai Lue in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture and Jiangcheng Hani and Yi Autonomous County in Yunnan Province in southwestern China. There are about 126,000 Tai Lue speakers in Bokeo, Luang Prabang, Luang Namtha, Oudomxay, Phongsaly and Xiagnabouli provinces in northern Laos, 83,000 in Nan and Phayao provinces in northern Thailand, 60,000 in Shan state in northern Myanmar, and 6,760 in Lai Châu and Lào Cai provinces in northern Vietnam. Tai Lue is also known as Lü, Dai, Dai Le, Lu, Lue, Ly, Pai’i’, Pai-I, Shui-Pai-I, Sipsongpanna Dai, Tai Lu or Xishuangbanna Dai. Native speakers call it ᦅᧄᦺᦑᦟᦹᧉ (kam tai lue) [kâm.tâj.lɯ̀]. In China Tai Lue is written with the New Tai Lue script or the Old Tai script. In Thai it may be written with the Lanna script.
The Tai Lue people (Tai Lü, ไทลื้อ) are a Tai ethnic group inhabiting the tropical forests and valleys scattered throughout China, Burma, Laos, Vietnam, and the northern region of Thailand. They speak a Southwestern Tai language, spoken by about 700,000 people in Southeast Asia. The Tai Lue language is similar to other Tai languages and more closely related to Kham Mueang, or Yai Yuan, which is also known as Northern Thai/Lanna language. Tai Lue people, although considered to be a part of northern Thailand’s ‘hill tribe’ ethnic groups, have their own written language and identity. Known for their distinctive, vibrant clothing, weaving and dances, the Tai Lues share many of the same traditions and customs of the Thais – especially its Tai Yuan counterparts – such as its architecture, culture, and religion.
Tai Lue people are an ethnic group of China, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam. They speak a Southwestern Tai language. is a Tai language of the Lu people, spoken by about 700,000 people in Southeast Asia. This includes 280,000 people in China (Yunnan), 200,000 in Myanmar, 134,000 in Laos, 83,000 in Thailand, and 4,960 in Vietnam.The language is similar to other Tai languages and is closely related to Kham Mueang or Tai Yuan, which is also known as Northern Thai language. In Yunnan, it is spoken in all of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, as well as Jiangcheng Hani and Yi Autonomous County in Pu'er City. In Vietnam, most Lu live in Lai Châu Province, and their population was 5,601 in 2009. In China, they are officially recognized as part of the Dai ethnic group. The 2000 census counted about 280,000 Dai people speaking Lü language. The population in Thailand, where they are called Thai Lue (Thai: ไทลื้อ), was in 2001 estimated to be approximately 83,000. Most Thai Lue in Thailand live in Nan, Chiang Rai, Phayao and Chiang Mai Province. In Vietnam, Lu are the indigenous people in Mường Thanh ("Land of the God of Tai people", Tai Lü: muong theng). They had built Tam Vạn wall in Mường Thanh and managed there for 19 generations before Hoàng Công Chất, a Thái leader, came. Nowadays, nearly all Vietnamese Lu live in Lai Châu Province. The Lu take their father's last name and have the middle name Bạ (for males) and Ý (for females). Their religion is Theravada Buddhism.
The Tai Lue people of Mueang Luang Nuea live in a village next to a vast river basin in the eastern part of Chiang Mai. The village is named after their original settlement on the banks of the Luang River in Xishuangbanna, with the surrounding land rich and abundant in terms of natural resources. Here, you can get to know all about the Tai Lue way of life, with the opportunity to make charcoal compress balls to be used to create unique patterns on bags. Taste “So ba kuay ted” (or papaya salad with ginger), which cannot be found anywhere else in Thailand. Show off your creative side with an activity that involves painting the mythical “Phaya Luang” figures. It’s worth noting that each visit to this region won’t be the same – as the seasonal activities depend on the time of year. Most of the locals are farmers who live a simple and tranquil life, and, like most people in the north, follow the concept of “Yoo Dee Kin Wan”. You’ll find that the charm of this community lies in its harmony, as well as the warm, and family-like interactions between you and the locals.
The most striking aspects of the Tai Lue’s way of life are found in the following rubrics: temples (building and decoration), traditional houses, handicraft production (particularly weavings), dedicated museums, festivals, food outlets, handicraft shops, clothing and apparels, dances and music, social life. Depending on individual interests, visits have to be scheduled at specific times and to particular destinations (i.e. festival periods and precise localizations). For the casual traveler, however, it is already enriching to stop for a short visit and appreciate the cultural gems found along the North Thailand roads.
The New Tai Lue script was developed in China during the 1950s. It is based on the Old (Traditional) Tai Lue script, which had been in use since about 1200 AD. Between 1950 and the early 1980s the Chinese government promoted the new script as a replacement for the old script. However since the 1980s the Tai Lue in China have been allowed to choose to teach either the new or the old script. The new script is used exclusively in Jinghong, so could be called the New Jinghong Tai Lue script, and is used for shop and street signs. Few people can read it. The traditional Tai Lue script, which is very similar to the Lanna alphabet, is still used in Burma, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. It is also also known as Xishuangbanna Dai (ᦟᦲᧅᦷᦎᦺᦑᦟᦹᧉ) or Simplified Tai Lue.
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