Tai Yuan

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The nine provinces of northern Thailand are 80% inhabited by Tai Yuan
Sign with Lanna script in Chiang Mai

Tai Yuan ( Thai ไทย วน , or only Yuan ; own designation Khon Müang , คนเมือง , "inhabitants of the (cultivated) country" or "people of the community"; also northern Thais , คน เหนือ , khon nuea , "people of the north") are an ethnic group , which makes up the majority population in seven of the nine provinces of northern Thailand (the exceptions are Mae Hong Son and Uttaradit ), the former area of ​​the Kingdom of Lan Na . They belong to the group of the Tai peoples . About six million people belong to this people. They speak the Lanna language (Kam Müang) , which is traditionally written with the Lanna script (or Dhamma script, Tai Tham ). They are culturally closely related to the Tai Lü in the southern Chinese district of Sipsong Panna and the Tai Khün in the area of Keng Tung (Chiang Tung) in the Burmese Shan state .

designation

The foreign name 'Yuan', with which the Siamese (ie Central Thai) referred to their northern neighbors, goes back to Sanskrit yavana ("foreigner"). Yun , the Burmese name for this people , is derived from the same root .

history

Original settlement area

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 and Ing rivers in what is now Chiang Rai Province . Since the Yuan, like other Tai peoples, traditionally live from wet rice cultivation, they only settled in the river plains of northern Thailand, but not in the mountain ranges that run through it and make up three quarters of the area. They formed small-scale principalities ( Müang ) . The geography of the settlement area prevented the formation of larger communities.

Own state of Lan Na

Nagas and Makaras on a Wihan building of Wat Chet Yot in Chiang Mai (built in the 15th century under King Tilok): Mythological creatures used to decorate stairs are typical of classic Lanna architecture.

Mangrai , the ruler of Müang Ngoen Yang , 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 empire Hariphunchai , which until that time had dominated large parts of what is now northern Thailand in political, economic and cultural terms. This laid the foundation for the new kingdom of Lan Na ("one million rice fields") when its capital, Mangrai , was founded in 1296 by Chiang Mai . The remaining Müang , who were dependent on Lan Na, retained their own dynasties and extensive autonomy, but had to swear loyalty to the king and pay tribute ( mandala model ). Lan Na was ethnically very heterogeneous and the Tai Yuan did not constitute the majority of the population in large parts of their territory.

The different cultures converged, however, so the originally animistic and scriptless Tai Yuan took over from the Mon Hariphunchais their religion, Theravada Buddhism , and their writing system (the Lanna script is developed from the Mon script). As a result, a common identity among the Lan Nas peoples became increasingly common in the 14th century and the non-Tai peoples largely assimilated to the Tai Yuan. Anyone who integrated themselves into the communities in the river valleys and plains (muang) was regarded as a tai , regardless of ethnic origin , hence the self-designation Khon muang . Only the indigenous peoples were not included, like the Lua ' , who lived outside the Müang in the highlands of the mountains and operated slash- and- burn agriculture. They were summarized by the Tai as kha . Ethnicity was defined less by descent than by way of life.

The Yuan had very close ties with the Lao kingdom of Lan Xang . In 1546, Sai Settha, a Lao prince, was elected king of Lan Na. By the middle of the 15th century at the latest, they had the technology to manufacture and use cannons and fireworks rockets. The expansion of Lan Nas's sphere of influence reached a climax in the second half of the 15th century under King Tilok . Lan Nas's sphere of interest clashed with that of the central Thai kingdom of Ayutthaya , which resulted in several wars over the two men lying between the Müang Sukhothai , Phitsanulok and Kamphaeng Phet .

The first decades of the 16th century are considered to be the heyday of Lan Na's literature. The classical works of this time, however, were not written in the native language of the Tai Yuan, but in the learned language Pali . At the same time, Ayutthaya was expanding north and Siamese troops penetrated deep into the Yuan-inhabited area of ​​Lan Nas. The fighting was extremely costly, including a number of high-ranking generals and yuan nobles. In addition to the population losses of men of armed age as a result of the war, large parts of the population also fell victim to natural disasters and epidemics around 1520. This ushered in the decline of Lan Nas. In 1558 it came under the rule of the Burmese Taungu dynasty ( Kingdom of Ava ).

Lacquer art from Chiang Mai
Traditional Northern Thai musical instruments

As there was often a shortage of labor in pre-modern Southeast Asia, it was customary to drag parts of the population of the defeated party to the area of ​​the victorious side after wars. In the 17th century, after the subjugation of Lan Nas by the Burmese, some yuan were brought to their capital Ava . There they belonged to the category of royal servants and a. Lacquerware. Belonging to Burma increased the differences between the Yuan and the Siamese in Ayutthaya.

Nevertheless, after the fall of Ayutthaya, the Yuan nobility Lan Nas entered into an alliance with King Taksin of Thonburi (the new Siamese kingdom) and, with his support, shook off the Burmese supremacy in 1774. This was immediately replaced by that of the Siamese (from 1782 under the Chakri dynasty and with the capital Bangkok). After conquering Chiang Saen , the last Burmese outpost in present-day Thailand, in 1804 , they deported thousands of yuan resident there to their heartland, the central Thai Chao Phraya Basin. As a result, a significant number of yuan still live in the provinces of Ratchaburi and Saraburi , where in the Sao Hai district there is even an enclave with a yuan majority in the central Thai settlement area.

Integration into Thailand and "Thaiization"

Until the 19th century, Lan Na retained its own structure and autonomy in internal affairs within the Siamese dominion. Its inhabitants were regarded as Western Lao (or "black-bellied Lao", due to the tradition of male Yuan to tattoo themselves above the waist), but not as Siamese. The yuan also saw themselves more as relatives of the Lao than the Siamese of the central Thai lowlands. As recently as the 1980s, the government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic was calling the Yuan-inhabited provinces of northern Thailand their " lost territories ". The Siamese King Rama V (Chulalongkorn) wrote in 1883 to his High Commissioner in Chiang Mai about the yuan, which he called "Lao":

“We do not yet see Chiang Mai as an integral part of our kingdom. [...] We just want to exercise real power. [...] The Lao should work like a machine that we can turn back and forth as we wish. [...] But that must be done more with understanding and wisdom than with power and violence. Do not let the Lao see that they are being enslaved and oppressed. "

- King Rama V (Chulalongkorn) : Letter to Phraya Ratchasampharakon

After Siam had to cede what is now Laos to France in 1893, the government stopped designating Lao and Yuan living in Thailand as Lao in order not to justify further expansion of the French protectorate area. When the administrative reform under King Rama V (Chulalongkorn) introduced the centralized thesaphiban system, Lan Na lost its independence in 1899. Chulalongkorn's son Rama VI. (Vajiravudh), who ruled from 1905, endeavored 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 Yuan, instead the Thai nation was increasingly mentioned. Vajiravudh strove to unite the different tribes under one dominant culture.

Selection of typical starters from Lanna cuisine

This policy of " Thaiization " was intensified after the end of the absolute monarchy in 1932 and the takeover of Plaek Phibunsongkhram in 1938. Phibunsongkhram decreed in 1939 that from now on the country should only be named Thailand and its inhabitants only Thai. He forbade any ethnic or regional differentiation. The Lanna script was subsequently pushed back in favor of the Thai alphabet. The use of the central Thai dialect was also forced in the north to displace the Lanna language. As a result, many Thai people cannot distinguish between citizenship (san-chat) and ethnicity or origin (chuea-chat) .

Contemporary history

Dancer in Chiang Mai

Nevertheless, the Tai Yuan have retained their own cultural identity (even if this is now mostly referred to as northern Thai). You have your own dance tradition. Their cuisine differs significantly from that of central Thailand. Even though almost all residents of northern Thailand understand and can speak the standard Thai language (this is still mandatory in schools), most of them still speak the northern Thai language at home. From around 1985, however, there was a decline here. Since then, the younger generations have used the Kam Müang less and less, so that the language was to be expected to disappear in the medium term.

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, predominantly the middle and upper classes, have been wearing the classic dresses of the north made of hand-made cotton on special occasions. In many public institutions and authorities it is customary to wear clothes made of traditional textiles on Fridays. There are regular performances of music and dance Lan Nas, as well as demonstrations of traditional handicrafts. As an expression of one's own regional character, signs with lettering in Lanna script are again being set up in some places.

Tai Yuan in Laos

Outside of Thailand, Tai Yuan also live in Laos, where they are known as Tai Nyuan. At the 2005 census, 29,442 people in Laos belonged to this ethnic group. They mainly settle around Ban Houayxay in the province of Bokeo and in the province of Sainyabuli , that is, near the border with northern Thailand.

literature

  • Andrew Forbes, David Henley: Khon Muang. People and principalities of North Thailand. Teak House Books, Bangkok / Chiang Mai 1997.
  • Volker Grabowsky (Ed.): Regions and National Integration in Thailand 1892–1992. Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden 1995, ISBN 3-447-03608-7 .
  • Volker Grabowsky: Population and State in Lan Na. A contribution to the population history of Southeast Asia. Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden 2004, ISBN 3-447-05111-6 .
  • Akiko Iijima: The Nyuan in Xayabury and Cross-border Links to Nan. In: Contesting Visions of the Lao Past. Laos Historiography at the Crossroads. NIAS Press, Copenhagen 2003, ISBN 87-91114-02-0 , pp. 165-180.
  • Andrew C. Shahriari: Khon Muang Music and Dance Traditions in Northern Thailand. White Lotus, Chiang Mai 2007.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Grabowsky: Population and State in Lan Na. 2004, p. 66.
  2. ^ A b Andrew Turton: Introduction. In: Civility and Savagery. Social Identity in Tai States. Curzon Press, Richmond Surrey 2000, p. 11.
  3. ^ Grabowsky: Population and State in Lan Na. 2004, pp. 65-66.
  4. ^ Grabowsky: Population and State in Lan Na. 2004, p. 89.
  5. ^ Grabowsky: Population and State in Lan Na. 2004, p. 90.
  6. ^ Grabowsky: Population and State in Lan Na. 2004, p. 94.
  7. ↑ 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, Singapore 1990, p. 76.
  8. ^ Grabowsky: Population and State in Lan Na. 2004, p. 61.
  9. ^ Grabowsky: Population and State in Lan Na. 2004, p. 106.
  10. ^ Grabowsky: Population and State in Lan Na. 2004, pp. 99-102.
  11. ^ Grabowsky: Population and State in Lan Na. 2004, p. 103.
  12. ^ Grabowsky: Population and State in Lan Na. 2004, p. 107.
  13. ^ Grabowsky: Population and State in Lan Na. 2004, pp. 31-32.
  14. ^ Grabowsky: Population and State in Lan Na. 2004, p. 264 ff.
  15. ^ Grabowsky: Population and State in Lan Na. 2004, p. 267.
  16. ^ A b 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, p. 125.
  17. ^ Grabowsky: Population and State in Lan Na. 2004, p. 197.
  18. ↑ 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, p. 172.
  19. ^ Volker Grabowsky: Brief history of Thailand. CH Beck, 2010, p. 147.
  20. ↑ Thak Chaloemtiarana: Thailand. The Politics of Despotic Paternalism. Cornell Southeast Asia Program, 2007, p. 246.
  21. ↑ Thanet Charoenmuang: When the Young Can not 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, p. 82 ff.
  22. ^ Charles F. Keyes: Cultural Diversity and National Identity in Thailand In: Government policies and ethnic relations in Asia and the Pacific. MIT Press, 1997, pp. 215f.
  23. ↑ Pinkaew Laungaramsri: Ethnicity and the politics of ethnic classification in Thailand. In: Ethnicity in Asia. Routledge Shorton, London / New York 2003, p. 163.
  24. ^ Rebecca Sue Hall: Of Merit and Ancestors. Buddhist Banners of Northern Thailand and Laos. Dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles 2008, pp. 69-71.
  25. ↑ Martin Stuart-Fox : Historical Dictionary of Laos. 3rd edition, Scarecrow Press, 2008, p. 335.