The Lao Krang ( th, ลาวครั่ง, , ; endonym: ) are a sub-group of the Lao

ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

. Also known as the Tai Krang ( th, ไทครั่ง), they speak a dialect of the

Lao language Lao, sometimes referred to as Laotian (, 'Lao' or , 'Lao language'), is a Kra–Dai language of the Lao people. It is spoken in Laos, where it is the official language for around 7 million people, as well as in northeast Thailand, where ...

that is not too different from the modern Lao/Isan languages of Laos and

Isan Northeast Thailand or Isan ( Isan/ th, อีสาน, ; lo, ອີສານ; also written as Isaan, Isarn, Issarn, Issan, Esan, or Esarn; from Pali ''īsānna'' or Sanskrit ईशान्य ''īśānya'' "northeast") consists of 20 prov ...

. The Lao Krang should not be confused with the Tai Khang (spelt the same as 'Thai Krang' in Thai) who are a closely related people inhabiting northeastern Laos.

Geographic Location

The Lao Krang are spread out throughout Western and Central Thailand, especially the provinces of

Phichit Phichit ( th, พิจิตร, เมือง) is a town ('' thesaban mueang'') in central Thailand, capital of Phichit Province. It covers the whole ''tambon'' Nai Mueang of Mueang Phichit district, an area of 12.017 km². As of 2005 i ...

Suphanburi Suphan Buri () is a town ('' thesaban mueang'') in central Thailand. It covers '' tambon'' Tha Philiang and parts of ''tambons'' Rua Yai and Tha Rahat, all within the Mueang Suphan Buri District. As of 2006 it had a population of 26,656. The to ...

Uthai Thani Uthai Thani ( th, อุทัยธานี, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in Thailand, capital of the Uthai Thani Province, in the upper central region of the country. It includes the entire ''tambon'' Uthai Mai of Mueang Uthai Thani dist ...

Chai Nat Chai Nat ( th, ชัยนาท, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in central Thailand, capital of Chai Nat province. It covers the whole ''tambon'' tambon Nai Mueang and parts of Ban Kluai, Tha Chai and Khao Tha Phra, all in Mueang Chai Nat ...

Phitsanulok Phitsanulok ( th, พิษณุโลก, ) is an important, historic city in lower northern Thailand and is the capital of Phitsanulok Province. Phitsanulok is home to Naresuan University and Pibulsongkram Rajabhat University, as well a ...

Kamphaeng Phet Kamphaeng Phet is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in central Thailand, former capital of the Kamphaeng Phet Province. It covers the complete ''tambon'' Nai Mueang of the Mueang Kamphaeng Phet district. As of 2020, it has a population of 28,817. ...

, Nakhon Pathom and

Nakhon Sawan Nakhon Sawan ( th, นครสวรรค์, ) is a city (''thesaban nakhon'') in Thailand, the name literally means "Heavenly City". The city is the capital of Nakhon Sawan Province, and covers the complete subdistrict (''tambon'') Pak Nam P ...

History

The Lao Krang are descendants of Lao people from

Luang Prabang Luang Phabang, ( Lao: ຫລວງພະບາງ/ ຫຼວງພະບາງ) or ''Louangphabang'' (pronounced ), commonly transliterated into Western languages from the pre-1975 Lao spelling ຫຼວງພຣະບາງ (ຣ = silent r ...

and Houaphanh provinces who were enslaved by invading Siamese soldiers after the fall of the last remnant kingdoms of

Lan Xang existed as a unified kingdom from 1353 to 1707. For three and a half centuries, Lan Xang was one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia. The meaning of the kingdom's name alludes to the power of the kingship and formidable war machine of the ea ...

. The Lao Krang were settled in the rich farmlands of Central Thailand to work as farm labourers to increase food production for the army and capital. Aside from their geographic isolation, the cultural traits and language of the Lao Krang give away their ancestors' traditional homeland.

Religion and Culture

The Lao Krang are

Theravada Buddhists ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

, but also maintain older animist beliefs. Especially revered is the tutelary spirit of the village, the ''hu chao nei''. Traditional activities include farming, as well as making a red dye from beetles used to stain textiles, hence the namesake ''krang'' or 'lac'. Traditionally, marriages were only between members of the same group.

References

*https://web.archive.org/web/20070814144452/http://www.joshuaproject.net/peopctry.php?rop3=210125&rog3=TH *Hattaway, Paul. (2004). Peoples of the Buddhist World: A Christian Prayer Guide. Pasadena: William Carey Library. {{Ethnic groups in Thailand Tai peoples Ethnic groups in Thailand