The Sip Song Chau TaiOther spellings include: Sip Song Chau Thai, Sipsong Chuthai, Sipsong Chu Tai, Sip Song Chu Tai, Sipsongchuthai, Sip Song Chu Thai, Sipsong Chau Tai, Sip Song Chao Thai, Sipsong Chao Tai, Sipsongchutai, Sipsong Chao Thai. ("Twelve Tai cantons"; ; or ; or ; ; Tai Dam: "Tai Federation") was a confederation of Tai Dam ("Black Tai"), Tai Dón ("White Tai") and Tai Daeng ("Red Tai")

chiefdom A chiefdom is a political organization of people representation (politics), represented or government, governed by a tribal chief, chief. Chiefdoms have been discussed, depending on their scope, as a stateless society, stateless, state (polity) ...

s in the mountainous north-west of today's

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, dating back at least to the 17th century. It became an autonomous part of the French protectorate of

Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, including both the ...

, and thereby of

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...

, in 1889. In 1948, during the period of the

First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam, and alternatively internationally as the French-Indochina War) was fought between French Fourth Republic, France and Việ ...

, it was transformed into the Tai Federation (, ) that was recognized as an autonomous component of the

French Union The French Union () was a political entity created by the French Fourth Republic to replace the old French colonial empire system, colloquially known as the " French Empire" (). It was ''de jure'' the end of the "indigenous" () status of Frenc ...

. In 1950 it was made a crown domain of Vietnamese emperor

Bảo Đại Bảo Đại (, vi-hantu, , , 22 October 191331 July 1997), born Nguyễn Phúc (Phước) Vĩnh Thụy (), was the 13th and final emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last ruling dynasty of Vietnam. From 1926 to 1945, he was ''de jure'' em ...

without being integrated into the

State of Vietnam The State of Vietnam (; chữ Hán: 國家越南; ) was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1949 until 1955, first as an associated state of the French Union and later as an independent state (from 20 July 1954 to 26 October 1955). The s ...

. It was dissolved after the

Geneva Agreements The Geneva Conference was intended to settle outstanding issues resulting from the Korean War and the First Indochina War and involved several nations. It took place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 26 April to 20 July 1954. The part of the confe ...

of 1954.

Name

The number Sip Song is Tai language for twelve, as with Thai "twelve" (12, ๑๒, สิบสอง, sip song, ). A parallel etymology with the number twelve can also be found in the place name Sip Song Panna (

Xishuangbanna Xishuangbanna, sometimes shortened to Banna, is one of the eight autonomous prefectures of Yunnan Province. The autonomous prefecture for Dai people is in the extreme south of Yunnan province, China, bordering both Myanmar and Laos. Xishuangbanna ...

) in China. ''Chau'' is land (similar to sino-Vietnamese 州 and not to be confused with similar sounding Thai chau, ''lord'') and Tai (ไต๋, Chinese 傣).

Early history

Tai peoples Tai peoples are the populations who speak (or formerly spoke) the Tai languages. There are a total of about 93 million people of Tai ancestry worldwide, with the largest ethnic groups being Dai people, Dai, Thai people, Thai, Isan people, Isan, ...

have settled in the northwestern parts of what now is Vietnam since the early first millennium CE or, at the latest, the fifth to eighth century. They mainly settled along the Black River ''(Sông Đà)''. One Black Tai chiefdom—located at the place today known as

Điện Biên Phủ Điện Biên Phủ (, vi-hantu, ) is a city in the Northwest (Vietnam), northwestern region of Vietnam. It is the capital of Điện Biên Province. The city is best known for the decisive Battle of Dien Bien Phu, Battle of Điện Biên Phủ ...

—was named ''Muang Thaeng'', just like the legendary kingdom of

Khun Borom Khun Borom (, ) or Khoun Bourôm (, ) is a legendary progenitor of the Southwestern Tai-speaking peoples, Mythology According to the myth of Khoun Borôm, a myth commonly related among Tai-speaking peoples, in ancient times people were wicked ...

, protagonist of a Tai creation myth and believed to be the progenitor of the Lao, Thai, Shan and other Tai peoples, who later spread to the territories of modern Laos, Thailand, Burma, northeast India and the south of China's

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

province. Like in other Tai societies, the core social units of the Tai Dam, Tai Dón and Tai Daeng were the village ''(ban)'' and the chiefdom (''

mueang Mueang ( Ahom: 𑜉𑜢𑜤𑜂𑜫; ''mɯ̄ang'', ), Muang ( ''mɯ́ang'', ), Möng ( Tai Nuea: ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ''möeng''; ''móeng'', ), Meng ( zh, c=猛 or 勐) or Mường (Vietnamese) were pre-modern semi-independent city-states or princip ...

'', Vietnamese ''mường''), each consisting of several villages and ruled by a feudal lord ''(chao)''. Their base of life was wet rice cultivation, which is why the Tai settled in valleys alongside the course of rivers. A number (first 12 - then 16) of these ''mueang'', situated in the modern-day provinces of Điện Biên,

Lai Châu Lai Châu () is a city in the Northwest region of Vietnam. It is the capital city of Lai Châu Province. The city borders Phong Thổ District, Sìn Hồ District và Tam Đường District. History Lai Châu, or Muang Lay (Vietnamese: M� ...

Sơn La Sơn La (; Tai Dam: ) is a city in the north-west region of Vietnam. It is the capital of Sơn La Province. It is bordered by Thuận Châu District, Mường La District, and Mai Sơn District. History In the era of the Sip Hoc Chau Tai, ...

as well as western parts of

Lào Cai Lào Cai () is a city in the Northwest region of Vietnam. It is the capital of Lào Cai Province. The city borders Bảo Thắng District, Bát Xát District, Sa Pa and the city of Hekou Yao Autonomous County, in Yunnan province of southwe ...

and

Yên Bái Yên Bái () is a city in Vietnam. It is the capital of Yên Bái Province, in the north-east region of Vietnam. The city borders Yên Bình District and Trấn Yên District. The city is a settlement along the banks of the Red River, approxi ...

grouped together and formed a long-term alliance, called Sip Song Chau Tai. Usually one of the lords was considered senior to the others, but each of them maintained the power over his chiefdom. The alliance has been formalized since at least the 17th century, but the chiefdoms never merged into one homogenous state. The number of ''mueangs'' belonging to the confederation altered during the course of time, but the number "twelve" was kept in the name for symbolic reasons. In premodern Southeast Asia's complex political geography, Sip Song Chau Tai lay at the intersection of several larger ''

mandalas A mandala (, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for establishing a sacred space and as an aid ...

'' (circles of influence): At different times, it had to pay tribute to China, Vietnam,

Lan Xang Lan Xang () or Lancang was a Lao people, Lao kingdom that held the area of present-day Laos from 1353 to 1707. For three and a half centuries, Lan Xang was one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia. The kingdom is the basis for Laos's nat ...

Luang Phrabang Luang Prabang ( Lao: ຫຼວງພະບາງ, pronounced ), historically known as Xieng Thong (ຊຽງທອງ) and alternatively spelled Luang Phabang or Louangphabang, is the capital of Luang Prabang Province in north-central Laos. I ...

(in today's Laos) and/or

Siam Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

(Thailand). Nevertheless, the Tai chiefdoms always maintained their autonomy in internal affairs.

French Indochina

Even though the upland Tai had stronger ethnic and cultural ties to Laos, Sip Song Chau Tai was incorporated into the French protectorate of

—and therefore

—after 1888. This was arranged by the French explorer and colonial representative Auguste Pavie who signed a treaty with Đèo Văn Trị, the White Tai lord of Muang Lay (

) on 7 April 1889. Thereby the Sip Song Chau Tai accepted the French overlordship, while the colonial power promised to respect the positions of the Tai lords and their autonomy in internal affairs. At that time the 12 principalities, then 16 ones, were : # Mường Tè (Muaeng Teeh) #Mường So (Muaeng Soh, now Phong Thổ District) #Mường Sát (Muaeng Saes) #Mường Ma (Muaeng Muaeh) # Mường Lay (Muaeng Laei) #Mường Chiên (Muaeng Chaeng) #Mường Chăn (Muaeng Chaen) #Mường Than (Muaeng Thaen) #Mường Quài (Muaeng Quaei, now Tuần Giáo District) #

Mường Thanh Mường Thanh is a ward (''phường'') of Điện Biên Phủ in Điện Biên Province in northwestern Vietnam. It was a township of Điện Biên District before it was incorporated into Điện Biên Phủ city. Mường Thanh is named aft ...

(Muaeng Thaeng) #Mường Muổi (Muaeng Moi, now Thuận Châu District) #Mường Lò (Muaeng Roh) # Mường Ảng (Muaeng Aeng) # Mường Chà (Muaeng Chaeh) # Mường Nhé (Muaeng Naeh) # Mường Mùn (Muaeng Muaelm, now merged to Tuần Giáo District) Following Đèo Văn Trị's death, leadership of the White Tai passed to his third son Đèo Văn Long, passing over the second son. After the Japanese coup of 1945, Đèo Văn Long fled Lai Chau with retreating French units. On his return, with the assistance of a Eurasian agricultural official named Louis Bordier, Đèo Văn Long was reestablished, and the French agreed to honor the terms of Pavie's 1889 agreement with Long's father. Bordier married Long's daughter and as his son-in-law proceeded to direct military operations of the White Tai against the Black Tai at Son La who supported the Viet Minh. Several Tai companies fought alongside the French in the

, against both the communist

Viet Minh The Việt Minh (, ) is the common and abbreviated name of the League for Independence of Vietnam ( or , ; ), which was a Communist Party of Vietnam, communist-led national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1 ...

and the nationalist Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng (VNQDD), probably motivated by their distrust vis-à-vis the lowland Vietnamese and their wish to retain the autonomy they enjoyed under the French.

Tai Federation

In 1948, the French colonial administration declared the Tai Federation (, native name: ''Phen Din Tai'', ; by that time consisting of 19 Tai states in then three Vietnamese provinces of Lai Châu, Sơn La and Phong Thổ) to be an independent component of the

. It had its own flag, constitution and parliament. Đèo Văn Long was appointed president for life and Lai Châu was chosen as the capital. The Tai Federation was however not only populated by Tai peoples, but also other "

hill tribes Hill people, also referred to as mountain people, is a general term for people who live in the hills and mountains. This includes all rugged land above and all land (including plateaus) above elevation. The climate is generally harsh, with s ...

" ''(montagnards)'', including

Hmong Hmong may refer to: * Hmong people, an ethnic group living mainly in Southwest China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand * Hmong cuisine * Hmong customs and culture ** Hmong music ** Hmong textile art * Hmong language, a continuum of closely related ...

, Yao, Yi (Lolo) and Khmu. They were labeled as "sub-minorities" and treated inferior to the Tais. Đèo Văn Long monopolized all the state power in his person and family, as well as the opium trade (which was tolerated by the French). In 1950, the Tai Federation was made a crown domain of the French-installed Vietnamese emperor

, but not an integrated part of the State of Vietnam. Bảo Đại refrained from delegating a governor to Lai Châu, but rather left the power in the hands of Đèo Văn Long and the Tai lords. The emperor visited his domain only once, in 1952. Many of the subjugated groups supported the Viet Minh on their advance to the Northwest starting in 1952. There were also rising tensions between the different Tai groups and their lords. Đèo Văn Long had simply dismissed the Black Tai lord of Muang Thaeng (Dien Bien Phu), Lò Văn Hặc, and replaced him by his own son. The disempowered chief and many members of his tribe joined forces with the Viet Minh to both seek retaliation against the Đèo family and to dislodge the dominance of the White Tai. Following the death of Đèo Văn Long's oldest son, his third son Deo Van Un took command of 4,000 White Tai partisans, but was killed at the

Battle of Dien Bien Phu The Battle of Điện Biên Phủ was a climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War that took place between 13 March and 7 May 1954. It was fought between the forces of the French Union and Viet Minh. The French began an operation to in ...

of March to May 1954. This was a decisive battle of the First Indochina War and sealed the defeat of the French. Đèo Văn Long was evacuated by helicopter to Hanoi, then departed to Laos and finally went into exile in France. The

of July 1954 awarded the whole of

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it o ...

to the communist-led Democratic Republic (DRV) and dissolved the autonomous Tai Federation, marking the end of the centuries-old rule of the feudal lords. Thousands of Tais left their native land and emigrated to France, Australia and the United States (mainly settling in

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

Democratic Republic of Vietnam

In order to avoid ethnic tensions, the DRV designated its northwestern provinces of Lai Châu, Sơn La and Nghĩa Lộ as the "Tai-Meo .e. HmongAutonomous Region" (Vietnamese: ''Khu Tự trị Thái-Mèo''), modeled on the national autonomies of communist China. It was renamed the "Northwest Autonomous Region" ''(Khu Tự trị Tây Bắc)'' in 1961, in order to not highlight just two of the many ethnic groups in this zone. The autonomy was rescinded after the Vietnamese reunification of 1975. Following Đèo Văn Long's death in 1975, his title and position among the exile community of the "Pays Taï" passed to his daughter Deo Nang Toï, who has lived in Paris until her death in 2008.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control Regions of Vietnam 1954 disestablishments in Asia Former countries in Vietnamese history States and territories disestablished in 1954