The Tai Lü people ( Tai Lue: ᦺᦑᦟᦹᧉ, , ''Dǎi lè'', , ''Lư̄'', , , ) are an ethnic group of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

Thailand 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 ...

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

and

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 ...

. They speak a Southwestern Tai language.

Etymology

The word ''Lü'' (ລື້) is similar to the ''Lao people'' in the

Tai Lü language Tai Lue ( New Tai Lü: , Tai Tham: , ''kam tai lue'', ) or Xishuangbanna Dai is a Tai language of the Lu people, spoken by about 700,000 people in Southeast Asia. This includes 280,000 people in China (Yunnan), 200,000 in Burma, 134,000 in ...

. Tai Lü can be written as Tai Lue, Dai Le and Dai Lue. They are also known as Xishuangbanna Dai, Sipsongpanna Tailurian and Tai Sipsongpanna. The word ''Lue'' ( Thai: เหนือ Tai Lue: ᦟᦹᧉ) in the

Tai languages The Tai, Zhuang–Tai, or Daic languages (Ahom language, Ahom: 𑜁𑜪𑜨 𑜄𑜩 or 𑜁𑜨𑜉𑜫 𑜄𑜩 ; ; or , ; , ) are a branch of the Kra–Dai languages, Kra–Dai language family. The Tai languages include the most widely spo ...

means "north", thus their ethnonym means ''Northern Tai'' which they share with

Tai Nua people Tai Nüa ( Dehong Dai: ᥖᥭᥰ ᥘᥫᥴ ''Tai Lə;'' Chinese: 傣那 ''Dǎinà'') is one of the Tai ethnicities in Southeast Asia. They are primarily found in the Yunnan Province of China, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam, with some imm ...

Distribution

In Vietnam, most Lu live in

Lai Châu Province Lai or LAI may refer to: Abbreviations * Austrian Latin America Institute (Österreichisches Lateinamerika-Institut) * '' Latin American Idol'', TV series * La Trobe Institute, Melbourne, Australia * Leaf area index, leaf area of a crop or ve ...

and their population was 5,601 in 2009. In China, they are officially recognized as part of the Dai ethnic group. The 2000 census counted about 280,000 Dai people speaking Lü language. The population in Thailand, where they are called Thai Lue (), was in 2001 estimated to be approximately 83,000.Johnstone and Mandryk 2001; cited in Most Thai Lue in Thailand live in Nan,

Chiang Rai Chiang Rai (, ; , ) is the northernmost major city in Thailand, with a population of about 200,000 people. It is located in Mueang Chiang Rai District, Chiang Rai Province. Chiang Rai was established as a capital city in the reign of King Ma ...

, Phayao and

Chiang Mai Province Chiang Mai is the largest Provinces of Thailand, province (''changwat'') of Thailand by area. It lies in Northern Thailand#Regional classification of northern Thailand, upper northern Thailand and has a population of 1.78 million people. It ...

. They sing ''khap lue'' (, ) and play ''pi mae'' () -

free reed A free reed aerophone is a musical instrument that produces sound as air flows past a vibrating reed in a frame. Air pressure is typically generated by breath or with a bellows. In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, it is number 412.13 (a member of ...

wind bamboo instrument. In Vietnam, Lu are the indigenous people in

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 ...

("Land of the God of

Tai people 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, Thai, Isan, Tai Yai (Shan), Lao, Tai Ahom, ...

", Tai Lü: ''muong theng''). They had built Tam Vạn wall in Mường Thanh and managed there for 19 generations before Hoàng Công Chất, a Thái leader, came. Nowadays, nearly all Vietnamese Lu live in Lai Châu Province. The Lu take their father's last name and have the middle name Bạ (for males) and Ý (for females). Their religion is

Theravada ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dharma (Buddhi ...

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

Tai Lü Kingdom

Gallery

File:Tai Lue dance at Wat Nantaram, Phayao (Dec 2021) - IMG 04.jpg, Lu traditional performance at , Chiang Kham District,

File:Lu Woman.png, Lu Woman in Laos, c. 1900. File:Lu woman Laos 01.png, Lu Woman in Laos, c. 1900. File:2013 Wat Nong Bua Thai Lue Buddha.jpg, A Thai Lue Buddha statue in

Wat A wat (, ; , ; , ; ; , ) is a type of Buddhist and Hindu temple in Cambodia, Laos, East Shan State (Myanmar), Yunnan (China), the Southern Province of Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Etymology The word ''wat'' is borrowed from the Sanskrit ''v ...

Non Bua, Tha Wang Pha District, Thailand File:Thai Lue musician at Wat Nong Bua 01.jpg, A Thai Lue musician plays in the garden of Wat Nong Bua, Tha Wang Pha District, Thailand. File:Wat Nong Daeng 2014 b.jpg, The interior of the wihan of Wat Nong Daeng, Chiang Klang District, Thailand File:MuangSing VatNamKeoLuang1 tango7174.jpg, Vat Nam Keo Luang in Muang Sing, Laos File:Muang Sing, Laos2.jpg, The interior of Vat Xieng Chai, Muang Sing, Laos Tai Lue House of Mae Saeng Da เฮือนไตลื้อแม่แสงดา อำเภอเชียงคำ จังหวัดพะเยา - img 03.jpg, A Tai Lue house in Chiang Kham District,

References

External links

Ethnologue entry for Lu
{{Authority control Tai peoples Ethnic groups in Thailand Ethnic groups in Vietnam Ethnic groups in China