Thai people - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Thai people
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Thai people, formerly known as Siamese, are the main

ethnic group of Thailand and are part of the larger Tai
ethnolinguistic peoples found in Thailand and adjacent
countries in Southeast Asia as well as southern China and
northeastern India. Their language is the Thai language,
which exists in different regional variants,[16] and is
classified as part of the TaiKadai family of languages, and
the majority of Thai are followers of Theravada Buddhism.
"Thai people" usually includes Central and Southern Thai
(Siamese proper, or Tai Siam[17][18][19][20][21]), Northern
Thai (Lanna) and Isan people.[22][23]
The term Thai people has a loose meaning and sometimes
also refers to the population of Thailand in general, and not
only to ethnic Thais.

Contents
1 History
2 Geography and demographics
3 Culture and society
4 Religion
5 See also
6 Notes
7 References
8 External links

History
There have been many theories proposing the origin of the
Tai people, of which the Thai are a subgroup. Especially the
association of the Tai people with the Kingdom of Nanzhao
that has been proved to be invalid. Linguistic studies
suggested[24] that the origin of the Tai people lies around the
Chinese Province of Guangxi, where the Zhuang people are
still a majority. The ancient Tai people should be the part of
Chinese Nanyue, referred to by Han leaders as "foreign
servant" (Chinese: ), synecdoche for a vassal state. The
Qin dynasty founded Guangdong in 214 BC, initiating the
successive waves of Chinese migrations from the north for

Thai

Thai people at cremation ceremony

Regions with significant populations
Thailand approx. 50,600,000[1]
Vietnam

1,550,423[2] (2009)

United States

237,583[3] (2010)

Laos

180,000[4]

Taiwan

74,770[5] (2011)

Malaysia

70,000[6] (2014)

Australia

61,910[7] (2014)

Germany

52,849[8](2007)

Japan

41,279[9] (2010)

Sweden

38,129[10] (2014)

South Korea

30,760[11] (2009)

Hong Kong

30,000[12]

Saudi Arabia

23,000[13]

Canada

10,500[14] (2006)

Denmark

8 580[15] (2012)

Finland

7,500
Languages

Thai languages (Siamese, Southern Thai, Lanna,

Isan)
Religion
Predominantly

Theravada Buddhism. Minority

others

Related ethnic groups

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hundred years to come.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_people

other Tai peoples (e.g. Lao people, Shan people,

Dai people, Zhuang people, Ahom people); Thai

With the political and cultural pressures from the north, some
Chinese
Tai people migrated south[25] where they met the classical
Indianized civilizations of Southeast Asia. According to
linguistic and other historical evidence, the southwestward migration of Tai-speaking tribes from Guangxi took
place sometime between the 8th-10th centuries.[26]
The Tais from the north gradually settled in the Chao Phraya valley from the tenth century onwards, in lands of
the Dvaravati culture, assimilating the earlier Austroasiatic Mon and Khmer people, as well as coming into
contact with the Khmer Empire. The Tais who came to the area of present-day Thailand were engulfed into the
Theravada Buddhism of the Mon and the Hindu-Khmer culture and statecraft. Therefore, the Thai culture is a
mixture of Tai traditions with Indic, Mon and Khmer influcences.[27]
Early Thai chiefdoms included the Sukhothai Kingdom and Suphanburi. The Lavo Kingdom, which was the
center of Khmer culture in Chao Phraya valley, was also the rallying point for the Thais. The Thai were called
Siam by the Angkorians and they appeared on the bas relief at Angkor Wat as a part of the army of Lavo
kingdom. Sometimes the Thai chiefdoms in the Chao Phraya valley were put under the Angkorian control under
strong monarchs (including Suryavarman II and Jayavarman VII) but they were mostly independent.
A new city-state known as Ayutthaya, named after the Indian city of Ayodhya, was founded by Ramathibodi
and emerged as the center of the growing Thai Empire starting in 1350. Inspired by the then Hindu-based
Khmer Empire (Cambodia), the Ayutthaya Empire's continued conquests led to more Thai settlements as the
Khmer Empire weakened after their defeat at Angkor in 1431. During this period, the Thai developed a feudal
system as various vassal states paid homage to the Thai kings. Even as Thai power expanded at the expense of
the Mon and Khmer, the Thai Ayutthaya faced setbacks at the hands of the Malays at Malacca and were
checked by the Toungoo of Burma.
Other peoples living under Thai rule, mainly Mon, Khmer and Lao, as well as Chinese, Indian or Muslim
immigrants continued to be assimilated by Thais, but at the same time they influenced Thai culture, philosophy,
economy and politics. Most of today's Thais are of mixed descent. Therefore, Thai ethnicity is rather a question
of cultural identity than of genetic origin.[28] The biggest and most influential group are Thais of Chinese
origin. The share of Thais who are of full or partly Chinese descent is at about 40 percent.[29]
Though sporadic wars continued with the Burmese and other neighbors, Chinese wars with Burma and
European intervention elsewhere in Southeast Asia allowed the Thai to develop an independent course by
trading with the Europeans as well as playing the major powers against each other in order to remain
independent. The Chakkri dynasty under Rama I held the Burmese at bay, while Rama II and Rama III helped
to shape much of Thai society, but also led to Thai setbacks as the Europeans moved into areas surrounding
modern Thailand and curtailed any claims the Thai had over Cambodia, in dispute with Burma and Vietnam.
The Thai learned from European traders and diplomats, while maintaining an independent course. Chinese,
Malay, and British influences helped to further shape the Thai people who often assimilated foreign ideas, but
managed to preserve much of their culture and resisted the European colonization that engulfed their neighbors.
Thailand is also the only country in Southeast Asia that was not colonized by European powers in modern
history.
The concept of a Thai nation was not developed until the beginning 20th century under King Rama VI
(Vajiravudh). Before this era, Thai did not even have a word for 'nation'. He also imposed the idea of
"Thai-ness" (khwam-pen-thai) on his subjects and strictly defined what was "Thai" and "un-Thai". Authors of
this period re-wrote the Thai history from an ethno-nationalist viewpoint, disregarding the fact that the concept

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of ethnicity had not played an important role in South East Asia until the 19th century.[30][31] This newly
developed nationalism was the base of the policy of "Thaification" of Thailand which was intensified after the
end of absolute monarchy in 1932 and especially under the rule of Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram
(19381944). Minorities were forced to assimilate and regional peculiarities of Northern, Northeastern and
Southern Thailand were repressed in favour of one homogenous "Thai" culture.[32] As a result, many citizens of
Thailand do not distinguish between their nationality (san-chat) and ethnic origin (chuea-chat).[28]

Geography and demographics

The vast majority of
the Thai people live
in Thailand, although
some Thais can also
be found in other
parts of Southeast
Asia. About 60
million live in
Thailand alone,[1]
while thousands can
also be found in the
United States, Laos,
Taiwan, Malaysia,
Singapore,
Cambodia, Burma,
Thai People Abroad.
the United Kingdom,
Australia, Sweden,
Norway, Libya and the United Arab Emirates.

Culture and society

The Thais can be broken down into various regional groups with their own regional varieties of Thai. These
groups include Central Thai (also the standard variety of the language), the Isan (more closely related to the
Standard Lao of Laos than to Standard Thai), Lanna Thai and Southern Thai. Modern Central Thai has become
more dominant due to official government policy, which was designed to assimilate and unify the disparate Thai
in spite of ethnolinguistic and cultural ties between the northeastern Thai people and the people from Laos for
example.
The modern Thai are predominantly Theravada Buddhist and strongly identify their ethnic identity with their
religious practices that include aspects of ancestor worship, among other beliefs of the ancient folklore of
Thailand. Indigenous arts include muay Thai (kick boxing), Thai dance, makruk (Thai Chess), and nang yai
(shadow play).

Religion
Thais predominantly (more than 90%) avow themselves Buddhists. The variant of Buddhism practised in
Thailand is part of the Theravada branch. Since the rule of King Ramkhamhaeng of Sukhothai and again since
the "orthodox reformation" of King Mongkut in the 19th century, it is modeled on the "original" Sri Lankan

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Theravada Buddhism. The Thais' folk belief however is a syncretic blend of the official Buddhist teachings,
animistic elements that trace back to the original beliefs of Tai peoples, and Brahmin-Hindu elements[33] from
India, partly inherited from the Hindu Khmer Empire of Angkor.[34]
The belief in local, nature and household spirits, that influence secular issues like health or prosperity, as well as
ghosts (Thai: phi, ) is widespread. It is visible e.g. in so-called spirit houses (san phra phum) that may be
found near many homes. Phi play an important role in local folklore, but also in modern popular culture, like
television series and films. "Ghost films" (nang phi) are a distinct, important genre of Thai cinema.[35]
Hinduism has left substantial and present marks on Thai culture. Some Thais worship Hindu gods like Ganesha,
Shiva, Vishnu or Brahma (e.g. at Bangok's well-known Erawan Shrine). They do not see a contradiction
between this practice and their primarily Buddhist faith.[36] The Thai national epic Ramakien is an adaption of
the Hindu Ramayana. Hindu mythological figures like Devas, Yakshas, Nagas, gods and their mounts (vahana)
characterise the mythology of Thais and are often depicted in Thai art, even as decoration of Buddhist
temples.[37] Thailand's national symbol Garuda is taken from Hindu mythology as well.[38]
A characteristic feature of Thai Buddhism is the practice of tham bun ("merit-making"). This can be done
mainly by food and in-kind donations to monks, contributions to the renovation and adornment of temples,
releasing captive creatures (fish, birds) etc. Moreover, many Thais idolise famous and charismatic monks,[39]
who may be credited with thaumaturgy or with the status of a perfected Buddhist saint (Arahant). Other
significant features of Thai popular belief are astrology, numerology, talismans and amulets[40] (often images of
the revered monks)[41]
Besides Thailand's 2 million Muslim Malays, there are an additional 2 million ethnic Thais who profess Islam,
especially in the South, but also in Greater Bangkok. As a result of missionary work, there is also a minority of
approximately 500,000 Christian Thais: Catholics and various Protestant denominations.

See also
Thailand
Peopling of Thailand
Malaysian Siamese
Thai American
Thai British
Thai culture
Thai folklore
Thais in Taiwan
Thais in Hong Kong
Thai marriage
List of Thai actresses
List of Thai actors
List of Thai people

Notes
References

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1. "CIA - The World Factbook" (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/th.html#People).

Cia.gov. Retrieved 2012-08-29. "75% of 67,497,151 (July 2013 est.)"
2. "[1] (http://www.gso.gov.vn/default_en.aspx?tabid=476&idmid=4&ItemID=10802)", 2009 Vietnam Population and
Housing Census, General Statistics Office of Viet nam
3. Elizabeth M. Hoeffel, Sonya Rastogi, Myoung Ouk Kim, and Hasan Shahid, "The Asian Population: 2010
(http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-11.pdf)", 2010 Census Briefs, United States Census Bureau,
March 2012, p. 14.
4. http://www.crc.nsw.gov.au/statistics/Sect1/Table1p08Aust.pdf
5. 10012 (http://www.immigration.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=1109891&
ctNode=29699)
6. Nop Nai Samrong (8 January 2014). "SIAMESE MALAYSIANS: They are part of our society"
(http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:cMUSFXYAEp0J:www2.nst.com.my/7-daynews/wednesday/siamese-malaysians-they-are-part-of-our-society-1.457322+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk). New Straits
Times. Archived from the original (http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/siamese-malaysiansthey-are-part-of-our-society-1.457322) on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
7. Australian Bureau of Statistics. "Estimated Resident Population by Country of Birth - 1992 to 2014"
(http://stat.abs.gov.au//Index.aspx?QueryId=1093#) (ABS.stat). http://www.abs.gov.au/. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
8. http://www.destatis.de/jetspeed/portal/cms/Sites/destatis/Internet/EN/Content/Statistics/Bevoelkerung
/AuslaendischeBevoelkerung/Tabellen/Content100/AlterAufenthaltsdauer,property=file.xls
9. http://www.e-stat.go.jp/SG1/estat/List.do?lid=000001074828
10. "Utrikes fdda i riket efter fdelseland, lder och kn. r 2000 - 2014" (http://www.scb.se/sv_/Hitta-statistik
/Statistikdatabasen/Variabelvaljare/?px_tableid=ssd_extern%3aUtrikesFoddaR&rxid=a485a851-3570-4919a302-3aeb860fbfe7). Statistics Sweden. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
11. [2] (http://www.clair.or.jp/j/forum/pub/docs/367.pdf)
12. http://www.cityu.edu.hk/searc/WP44_03_Hewison.pdf
13. http://eng.mol.go.th/inform_dec1107_5.html
14. http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/hlt/97-562/pages/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR&Code=01&
Data=Count&Table=2&StartRec=1&Sort=3&Display=All&CSDFilter=5000
15. http://www.statistikbanken.dk/statbank5a/default.asp?w=1024
16. Antonio L. Rappa; Lionel Wee (2006), Language Policy and Modernity in Southeast Asia: Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore, and Thailand, Springer, pp. 114115
17. Cheesman, P. (1988). Lao textiles: ancient symbols-living art. Bangkok, Thailand: White Lotus Co., Thailand.
18. Fox, M. (1997). A history of Laos. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.
19. Fox, M. (2008). Historical Dictionary of Laos (3rd ed.). Lanham: Scarecrow Press.
20. Goodden, C. (1999). Around Lan-na: a guide to Thailand's northern border region from Chiang Mai to Nan.
Halesworth, Suffolk: Jungle Books.
21. Wijeyewardene, G. (1990). Ethnic groups across national boundaries in mainland Southeast Asia. Singapore:
Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
22. David Levinson (1998), Ethnic Groups Worldwide: A Ready Reference Handbook, Oryx Pres, p. 287,
ISBN 1573560197
23. Barbara A. West (2009), Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania, Facts on File, p. 794, ISBN 1438119135
24. Luo, Wei; Hartmann, John; Li, Jinfang; Sysamouth, Vinya (December 2000). "GIS Mapping and Analysis of Tai
Linguistic and Settlement Patterns in Southern China" (http://www.niu.edu/landform/papers/JGIS_Tai_Origin.pdf)
(PDF). Geographic Information Sciences (DeKalb: Northern Illinois University) 6 (2): 129136. Retrieved May 28,
2013. "Abstract. By integrating linguistic information and physical geographic features in a GIS environment, this
paper maps the spatial variation of terms connected with wet-rice farming of Tai minority groups in southern China
and shows that the primary candidate of origin for proto-Tai is in the region of Guangxi-Guizhou, not Yunnan or the
middle Yangtze River region as others have proposed...."
25. Du Yuting; Chen Lufan (1989). "Did Kublai Khan's Conquest of the Dali Kingdom Give Rise to the Mass Migration
of the Thai People to the South?" (http://www.siamese-heritage.org/jsspdf
/1981/JSS_077_1c_DuYutingChenLufan_KublaiKhanConquestAndThaiMigration.pdf) (PDF). Journal of the Siam
Society (Siam Heritage Trust). JSS Vol. 77.1c (digital). image 7 of p. 39. Retrieved March 17, 2013. "The Thai people
in the north as well as in the south did not in any sense "migrate en masse to the south" after Kublai Khan's conquest
of the Dali Kingdom."
26. Pittayaporn, Pittayawat (2014). Layers of Chinese Loanwords in Proto-Southwestern Tai as Evidence for the Dating

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of the Spread of Southwestern Tai (http://www.manusya.journals.chula.ac.th/files/essay/Pittayawat%2047-68.pdf).

MANUSYA: Journal of Humanities, Special Issue No 20: 47-64.
27. Charles F. Keyes (1997), "Cultural Diversity and National Identity in Thailand", Government policies and ethnic
relations in Asia and the Pacific (MIT Press): 203
28. Thak Chaloemtiarana (2007), Thailand: The Politics of Despotic Paternalism, Ithaca, NY: Cornell Southeast Asia
Program, pp. 245246, ISBN 978-0-8772-7742-2
29. Theraphan Luangthomkun (2007), "The Position of Non-Thai Languages in Thailand", Language, Nation and
Development in Southeast Asia (ISEAS Publishing): 191
30. Tejapira, Kasian (2003), "De-Othering Jek Communists: Rewriting Thai History from the Viewpoint of the EthnoIdeological Order", Southeast Asia Over Three Generations: Essays Presented to Benedict R. O'G. Anderson (Ithaca,
NY: Cornell Southeast Asia Program): 247
31. Thanet Aphornsuvan (1998), "Slavery and Modernity: Freedom in the Making of Modern Siam", Asian Freedoms:
The Idea of Freedom in East and Southeast Asia (Cambridge University Press): 181
32. Chris Baker; Pasuk Phongpaichit (2009), A History of Thailand (Second ed.), Cambridge University Press,
pp. 172175
33. Patit Paban Mishra (2010), The History of Thailand, Greenwood, p. 11
34. S.N. Desai (1980), Hinduism in Thai Life, Bombay: Popular Prakashan Private
35. Pattana Kitiarsa (2011), "The Horror of the Modern: Violation, Violence and Rampaging Urban Youths in
Contemporary Thai Ghost Films", Engaging the Spirit World: Popular Beliefs and Practices in Modern Southeast
Asia (Berghahn Books): 200220
36. Patit Paban Mishra (2010), The History of Thailand, Greenwood, pp. 1112
37. Desai (1980), Hinduism in Thai Life, p. 63
38. Desai (1980), Hinduism in Thai Life, p. 26
39. Kate Crosby (2014), Theravada Buddhism: Continuity, Diversity, and Identity, Chichester (West Sussex): Wiley
Blackwell, p. 277
40. Timothy D. Hoare (2004), Thailand: A Global Studies Handbook, Santa Barbara CA: ABC-CLIO, p. 144
41. Justin Thomas McDaniel (2011), The Lovelorn Ghost and the Magical Monk: Practicing Buddhism in Modern
Thailand, New York: Columbia University Press

Girsling, John L.S., Thailand: Society and Politics (Cornell University Press, 1981).
Terwiel, B.J., A History of Modern Thailand (Univ. of Queensland Press, 1984).
Wyatt, D.K., Thailand: A Short History (Yale University Press, 1986).

External links
US Library of Congress Country Studies, Thailand, The Thai and
Other Tai-Speaking Peoples (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query
/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+th0053))

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