Mani (people)

The Mani , also Maniq , are a small ethnic group in southern Thailand that differs from the majority population by their small body size, frizzy hair and darker skin color. Like the Semang in nearby Malaysia, they belong to the groups known as " Negritos ". Their language is Tonga (also called Mos), a Mon Khmer language . According to an estimate in 2000, their number was 300 people.

Traditionally they live as hunters and gatherers mainly in two areas in the southern Thai provinces of Trang and Satun . In addition, some Mani now also live in other areas of southern Thailand.

Web links

• Film: Last Foragers Standing - The daily life of the Maniq
• The Negrito of Thailand ( Memento from April 2, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
• Ethnologue.com about the Tonga language