Sip Song Chu Thai

Location of the Sip Song Chu Thai or Pays Thaï in Vietnam

Sip Song Chu Thai or Sipsong Chao Tai (translated: "Twelve cantons Tai"; Vietnamese Mười hai Xu Thái ; Thai สิบ สอง จุ ไทย or สิบ สอง เจ้า ไท , Lao : ສິບ ສອງ ຈຸ ໄຕ or ສິບ ສອງ ເຈົ້າ ໄຕ ) was a federation of chiefdoms ( Müang ) of Tai Dam ("Black Tai"), Tai Dón ("White Tai") and Tai Daeng ("Red Tai") in the mountainous northwest of today's Vietnam .

history

Pre-colonial period

The valley of the Black River (Sông Đà) in what is now northwestern Vietnam has probably been inhabited by the Tai peoples since the 5th to 8th centuries . Müang Thaeng (or Muang Thanh), a tribal principality of the Tai Dam in the area of the present-day city of Điện Biên Ph denselben , bore the same name as the legendary empire of Khun Borom , the legendary progenitor of the Lao , Thai , Shan and Highland Tai, which later became spread over today's states of Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, northeast India and the south of the Chinese province of Yunnan .

Prince Đèo Văn Trị in the official costume of a Chinese Mandarin (no year)

As with other Tai peoples, the most important social units of the Tai Dam, Tai Dón and Tai Daeng were the village (ban) and the principalities (müang) , each consisting of several villages, each ruled by a feudal lord (chao) . The Tai's livelihood was wet rice farming , which is why they settled in the valleys along rivers. Several of these Müang in the area of today's Vietnamese provinces Điện Biên , Lai Châu , Sơn La , as well as western parts of Lào Cai and Yên Bái formed a loose alliance. Sometimes the one, sometimes the other prince had priority over the others. This federation was formalized by the 17th century at the latest, but no fixed state structures emerged. The number of principalities fluctuated, the "twelve" in the name is to be understood more symbolically. The Sip Song Chu Thai had to pay tribute to China, Vietnam, Lan Xang or Luang Prabang (in today's Laos) and Siam (Thailand), to whose overlapping zones of influence ( mandala ) they belonged. In internal affairs, however, the Tai principalities retained the greatest possible autonomy. Conversely, the Sip Song Chu Thai temporarily ruled over Hua Phan Thang Hok , a confederation of six principalities of the Tai Nüa in what is now the Lao province of Houaphan .

Autonomy under French protectorate

Although they had stronger ethnic and cultural ties to Laos, the Sip Song Chu Thai were incorporated into the French protectorate of Tonkin in 1888 at the instigation of the French explorer and colonial representative Auguste Pavie and thus part of French Indochina . Pavie concluded a contract on April 7, 1889 with the Tai-Dón prince Đèo Văn Trị (actually Chao Khamhum or Kam Oum; approx. 1840-1909) of Müang Lai ( Lai Châu ). Accordingly, the colonial rulers left the Tai tribal princes of the Pays Thaï ("Land of the Tai") on their thrones and allowed them to regulate their own affairs largely independently.

During the Second World War , the Tai states were also occupied by Japanese troops. The population was used to unpaid forced labor, including to build an airfield in Điện Biên Phủ.

Indochina War

Flag and coat of arms of the Fédération Thaï, 1948–1954

Prince Đèo Văn Long

During the Indochina War , the French colonial administration declared the Fédération Thaï ("Tai Federation"; own name Phen Din Tai ; Vietnamese Khu tự trị Thái ) in 1948 to be an independent part of the Union française . These included the provinces of Lai Châu, Sơn La and Phong Thổ at that time. The federation had its own flag, constitution and parliament. Đèo Văn Long (actually Chao Phen Kham; 1887–1975), the son of Đèo Văn Trịs, was appointed its president for life . Lai Châu became the capital of the Federation. Several Tai companies fought on the French side against both the communist Việt Minh and the nationalist Việt Nam Quốc dân Đảng (VNQDD). The reason for this was probably also the traditional mistrust of the Tai towards the Vietnamese of the lowlands, from whom they feared foreign rule, while the French granted them autonomy.

Not only Tai lived in the area, but also other ethnic groups known as "mountain peoples" (montagnards) , including the Hmong , Yao , Yi (Lolo) and Khmu . These had a subordinate position to the Tai. Đèo Văn Long monopolized power and - with the approval of the French - the opium trade . As a result, internal conflicts arose between the Tai tribes and their princes. Đèo Văn Long deposed the prince of the Tai Dam of Müang Thaeng, Lò Văn Hặc, and put his own son on his throne. From 1950 the Tai Federation had the status of a crown domain of the Vietnamese Emperor Bảo Đại , supported by France , but without being part of the state of Vietnam. Bảo Đại initially refrained from sending a representative to Lai Châu, but instead left the government in the hands of Đèo Văn Long and the other Tai princes. The emperor visited his domain only once, in 1952.

From 1952 the Việt Minh advanced to the northwest. They were supported by members of the other minorities oppressed by the Tai, but also by "Black Tai" who remained loyal to their deposed Mr. Lò Văn Hặc and were tired of the dominance of the "White Tai" and the Đèo family. The Battle of Điện Biên Phủ from March to May 1954 was a decisive battle of the Indochina War that sealed the defeat of the French. With the recognition of the Democratic Republic (DRV) in North Vietnam at the Indochina Conference, the autonomous Fédération Thaï and the centuries-old rule of the feudal lords also ended. Đèo Văn Long fled to Laos and finally went into exile in France. After the war ended, he was sentenced to death in absentia. Many Tai left their homeland after the war and moved to France, Australia and the US state of Iowa .

In the Democratic Republic of Vietnam

In order not to risk ethnic unrest, the DRV declared its northwestern provinces - Lai Châu, Sơn La and Nghĩa Lộ - to be the "Autonomous Region of the Tai and Meo" (i.e. Hmong ; Vietnamese: Khu tự trị Thái - Mèo ), modeled on the national autonomies in communist China . The region was renamed the Autonomous Northwest Region (Khu tự trị Tây Bắc) in 1961 in order not to distinguish two ethnic groups from the many other ethnic groups. After the reunification of Vietnam in 1975, the autonomy was abolished.

Web links

Commons : Sip Song Chu Thai - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

Notes and individual references

↑ Other spellings u. a. Sip Song Chau Thai, Sipsong Chu Thai, Sipsong Chuthai, Sip Song Chau Tai, Sipsong Chu Tai, Sip Song Chu Tai, Sipsongchuthai, Sip Song Chao Tai, Sipsong Chau Tai, Sip Song Chao Thai, Sipsongchutai, Sipsong Chao Thai

^ Dieter Brötel: France in the Far East. Imperialist expansion in Siam and Malaya, Laos and China, 1880–1904. Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 1996, p. 111.
^ ^A ^b Jean Michaud: A Historical Panorama of the Montagnards in Northern Vietnam under French Rule. In: Turbulent Times and Enduring Peoples: Mountain Minorities in the South-East Asian Massif. Curzon Press, 2000, p. 54.
^ ^A ^b Joachim Schliesinger: Tai Groups of Thailand. Volume 1: Introduction and overview. White Lotus Press, 2001, Bangkok 2001, p. 32.
^ David K. Wyatt : Thailand. A short history . 2nd Edition. Silkworm Books, Chiang Mai 2004, ISBN 974-9575-44-X , p. 6.
↑ Martin Stuart-Fox : Historical Dictionary of Laos. 3rd edition, Scarecrow Press, 2008, p. 132.
^ Jean Michaud: A Historical Panorama of the Montagnards in Northern Vietnam under French Rule. In: Turbulent Times and Enduring Peoples: Mountain Minorities in the South-East Asian Massif. Curzon Press, 2000, p. 59.
↑ ^a ^b Michaud: A Historical Panorama of the Montagnards in Northern Vietnam under French Rule. 2000, p. 67.
^ Virginia Thompson, Richard Adloff: Minority Problems in Southeast Asia. Stanford University Press, Stanford CA 1955, pp. 214-215.
^ Thompson, Adloff: Minority Problems in Southeast Asia. 1955, p. 213.
^ ^A ^b Jean Michaud: Historical Dictionary of the Peoples of the Southeast Asian Massif. Scarecrow Press, Lanham MD / Oxford 2006, pp. 228-229, keyword Tai Federation .
↑ ^a ^b Michaud: A Historical Panorama of the Montagnards in Northern Vietnam under French Rule. 2000, p. 69.
^ Thompson, Adloff: Minority Problems in Southeast Asia. 1955, p. 216.
↑ Bruce M. Lockhart, William J. Duiker: The A to Z of Vietnam. Scarecrow Press, Lanham MD / Plymouth 2006. pp. 355–356, keyword Tây Bắc .
^ Jean Michaud: Historical Dictionary of the Peoples of the Southeast Asian Massif. Scarecrow Press, Lanham MD / Oxford 2006, pp. 232-233, keyword Tay Bac Autonomous Region .

[1] Other spellings u. a. Sip Song Chau Thai, Sipsong Chu Thai, Sipsong Chuthai, Sip Song Chau Tai, Sipsong Chu Tai, Sip Song Chu Tai, Sipsongchuthai, Sip Song Chao Tai, Sipsong Chau Tai, Sip Song Chao Thai, Sipsongchutai, Sipsong Chao Thai

[2] Dieter Brötel: France in the Far East. Imperialist expansion in Siam and Malaya, Laos and China, 1880–1904. Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 1996, p. 111.

[Michaud2000_54-3] A ^b Jean Michaud: A Historical Panorama of the Montagnards in Northern Vietnam under French Rule. In: Turbulent Times and Enduring Peoples: Mountain Minorities in the South-East Asian Massif. Curzon Press, 2000, p. 54.

[Schliesinger2001_32-4] A ^b Joachim Schliesinger: Tai Groups of Thailand. Volume 1: Introduction and overview. White Lotus Press, 2001, Bangkok 2001, p. 32.

[5] David K. Wyatt : Thailand. A short history . 2nd Edition. Silkworm Books, Chiang Mai 2004, ISBN 974-9575-44-X , p. 6.

[6] Martin Stuart-Fox : Historical Dictionary of Laos. 3rd edition, Scarecrow Press, 2008, p. 132.

[7] Jean Michaud: A Historical Panorama of the Montagnards in Northern Vietnam under French Rule. In: Turbulent Times and Enduring Peoples: Mountain Minorities in the South-East Asian Massif. Curzon Press, 2000, p. 59.

[Michaud2000_67-8] Michaud: A Historical Panorama of the Montagnards in Northern Vietnam under French Rule. 2000, p. 67.

[9] Virginia Thompson, Richard Adloff: Minority Problems in Southeast Asia. Stanford University Press, Stanford CA 1955, pp. 214-215.

[10] Thompson, Adloff: Minority Problems in Southeast Asia. 1955, p. 213.

[Michaud_HD228-11] A ^b Jean Michaud: Historical Dictionary of the Peoples of the Southeast Asian Massif. Scarecrow Press, Lanham MD / Oxford 2006, pp. 228-229, keyword Tai Federation .

[Michaud2000_69-12] Michaud: A Historical Panorama of the Montagnards in Northern Vietnam under French Rule. 2000, p. 69.

[13] Thompson, Adloff: Minority Problems in Southeast Asia. 1955, p. 216.

[14] Bruce M. Lockhart, William J. Duiker: The A to Z of Vietnam. Scarecrow Press, Lanham MD / Plymouth 2006. pp. 355–356, keyword Tây Bắc .

[15] Jean Michaud: Historical Dictionary of the Peoples of the Southeast Asian Massif. Scarecrow Press, Lanham MD / Oxford 2006, pp. 232-233, keyword Tay Bac Autonomous Region .