Phuan (ethnic group)
The Phuan (also Tai Puan, Thai Phuan or Lao Phuan, Phouan, Phu Un, Thai : ชาว ไท พ วน, ชาว ลาว พ วน , pronunciation: [ pʰuːan ]) are an ethnic group in Thailand and Laos . They belong to the group of the Tai peoples .
The size of the population of the Phuan is difficult to state, since the Laotian population statistics do not show them as a separate ethnic group, but rather combine them with Lao and other Tai groups to form the Lao Loum category .
Settlement area
Half of the total of around 200,000 people in Phuan live in smaller areas in the northeast of Thailand, the Isan , and the other half in the province of Xieng Khouang in Laos. The majority of Thai Phuan are located in Udon Thani Province . In Laos they can be found near the plains of the clay jars .
history
The Phuan settled in the plain of the clay jars after gaining control over them from the original inhabitants (presumably Khmu ). There they formed the tribal principality of Müang Phuan or Xieng Khouang. According to legend, it was founded by Chet Cheuang, the youngest son of the mythical progenitor of the Tai peoples, Khun Borom . This fought for its independence for a long time, but was at times obliged to pay tribute by various overlords. After the conquest by Fa Ngum around 1350, it belonged most of the time to the mandala (sphere of influence) of Lan Xang . Around 1651/52 a rebellion against the supremacy is documented in which the Phuan prince at that time refused to give his daughter to King Sulinyavongsa of Lan Xang. The latter's army then devastated the Phuan country and abducted around 500 families into its direct domain.
After the partition of Lan Xang in 1707, Müang Phuan was the subject of battles between Siam , Vietnam and the Laotian states for supremacy in the 19th century . Thousands of Phuan families were deported as workers by the victorious armies , including to the Middle Laotian Mekong Valley in today 's Bolikhamsai province and to northeast Thailand.
The British Vice Consul in Chiang Mai, EB Gould, described the forced relocation of Phuan from the Plain of the Clay Jars in 1876:
“The captives were hurried mercilessly along, many weighted by burdens strapped to their backs, the men, who had no wives or children with them and were therefore capable of attempting escape, were tied together by a rope pursed through a sort of wooden collar. Those men who had their families with them were allowed the free use of their limbs. Great numbers died from sickness, starvation and exhaustion on the road. The sick when they became too weak to struggle on were left behind. If a house happened to be near, the sick man or woman was left with the people in the house. If no house was at hand which must have oftener the case in the wild country they were traversing, the sufferer was flung down to die miserably in the jungle. Any of his or her companions attempting to stop to assist the poor creatures were driven on with blows. […] Fever and dysentery were still at work among them and many more will probably die. Already I was told, more than half of the original 5,700 so treacherously seized are dead. "
“The prisoners were ruthlessly driven on, many weighed down with loads tied behind their backs, the men who had no wives or children with them and were therefore able to try to escape were tied together with a rope that was put through a kind of wooden collar was. Those men who had their families with them were allowed the free use of their limbs. A large number died en route from disease, starvation, or exhaustion. The sick were left behind when they became too weak to carry on. If by any chance there was a house nearby, the sick man or woman was left with the people in the house. If there was no house within reach, which must have been more often the case in the wild country they crossed, the sufferer was thrown to die miserably in the jungle. Anyone of his or her companions who tried to stop to help the poor creatures was driven on with whistles. [...] Fever and dysentery were still at work among them and many more will likely die. I was told that more than half of the original 5,700 people who were so maliciously robbed are dead. "
As a result of the Lao Civil War , in which the province of Xieng Khouang was devastated by fighting and American area bombing, many Phuan moved to Vientiane .
religion
The Phuan are predominantly Buddhists of the Theravada direction. However, a group of Phuan who had lived in the Pakxan area of Bolikhamsai province since the 19th century were converted to Christianity.
Culture
The Phuan language coexists with Thai , which is the official language of Thailand and is taught in all schools. In contrast to the other languages of the northeastern minorities, Phuan is still used in everyday life.
Hand-woven textiles are characteristic products of the Phuan communities; in particular the striped or patterned pakama (also: pakaoma ; ผ้าขาวม้า ), a versatile cloth for men, e.g. B. as a short sarong , belt, neck scarf or headscarf, and the pasin tinjok ( ผ้า ซิ่น ตีนจก ), a long skirt for women. The manners and customs of the Phuan are similar to those of the other Tai groups in Isan and Laos. A special feature is the accompaniment of novices in the temples, mostly before the Songkran festival, the traditional Thai New Year festival: elephants accompany the newcomers to the temple grounds.
literature
- Peoples of the Buddhist World . 2004
Individual evidence
- ↑ Martin Stuart-Fox : Historical Dictionary of Laos. 3rd edition, Scarecrow Press, 2008, pp. 177, 266.
- ↑ Stuart-Fox: Historical Dictionary of Laos. 2008, p. 165.
- ^ A b Stuart-Fox: Historical Dictionary of Laos. 2008, p. 266.
- ↑ Stuart-Fox: Historical Dictionary of Laos. 2008, p. 101.
- ↑ Stuart-Fox: Historical Dictionary of Laos. 2008, p. 332.
- ^ EB Gould: Letter to Knox, August 4, 1876. Foreign Office, Volume 69, No. 64 (FO 69/64). Quoted from Volker Grabowsky : Forced Resettlement Campaigns in Northern Thailand During the Early Bangkok Period. In: Oriens Extremus , Volume 37, No. 1, 1994, pp. 45-107, at p. 70.
- ↑ Stuart-Fox: Historical Dictionary of Laos. 2008, p. 28.