The Tai Bueng ( th, ไทเบิ้ง, ) are an

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, ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

. They are also referred to as Lao Bueng ( th, ลาวเบิ้ง, ).

Geographic distribution

The Tai Bueng reside in two villages of Amphoe Phatthana Nikhom (อำเภอพัฒนานิคม) in Lopburi Province.

Culture

The Tai Bueng have maintained their unique culture despite being located in the heart of Thailand and in spite of onerous Thaification policies. Their distinctive dress consists of ''chong kaben'' (a type of pantaloon) with a silver belt. In other ways, they are very similar to surrounding Thai people and the Lao from which they descend. The Tai Bueng language and culture has been comparatively little studied.

History

The Tai Bueng believe they are descendants of ethnic Lao from the Lao city of Mueang Uthen (เมืองอุเทน), now located in Nakhon Phanom Province along the

Mekong River The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth longest river and the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annual ...

and modern-day Lao border. Although the details of their arrival in central Thailand is a mystery, it is possible that like other Lao-speaking tribal Tai groups, the Tai Bueng were enslaved or forced into

corvée Corvée () is a form of unpaid, forced labour, that is intermittent in nature lasting for limited periods of time: typically for only a certain number of days' work each year. Statute labour is a corvée imposed by a state for the purposes of ...

labour and forcibly moved to where they are now.

Religion

The Tai Bueng practise

Therevada Buddhism ''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' ...

References

*http://www.joshuaproject.net/peopctry.php?rop3=210127&rog3=TH *Hattaway, Paul. (2004). ''Peoples of the Buddhist World: A Christian Prayer Guide.'' Pasadena: William Carey Library. {{Ethnic groups in Thailand Ethnic groups in Thailand Tai peoples