The Thais (or Thai Siam)
The country's majority ethnic group is defined by its language, Thai, and is part of a larger group, the Tai people. The Thais came gradually from China, probably from Guangxi, migrating southwards from the 6th century onwards. Migration accelerated as the Chinese Empire became more structured, notably when Kubilai Khan extended his empire southwards. The Thais wanted to escape Sinicization and maintain their political and cultural autonomy. Early converts to Theravāda Buddhism, they occupy the plains, from which they have pushed the inhabitants into the mountains. They are traditionally farmers, but urbanization has pushed them towards the cities, where they are largely mixed with the Chinese.
The Malays
Malays, not to be confused with Malaysians, are an ethnic group from the Malay Peninsula whose language is Malay. They number between 2 and 4 million in Thailand, mainly in the south of the country. Muslims, they constitute the country's largest religious minority. They feel undermined economically - the proceeds from the export of tin and rubber, the wealth of the South, are largely reinvested in the North - and culturally. In the 1960s, they were one of the rear bases of the Malay Communist Party's guerrilla movement. Attacks attributed to Muslim independence fighters have been frequent in recent years in the south of the country, in provinces close to the Malaysian border. And not all Malays are immune to the siren calls of Muslim fundamentalism.
The Lao
They are a people of Thai origin who, after the border between the Kingdom of Siam and Laos was established, settled mainly in Isan, in the north-east of the country. They used to be called Lao Thai, to distinguish them from Siamese Thai, Lao being a language belonging to the Tai-Kadai family, like Thai. The Lao are generally Buddhists, but animism survives strongly in the infertile north-east where they live. Farmers living in a particularly arid region, they are forced into debt and many emigrate, first to the capital where they provide cheap labor, then to the Gulf States or Singapore. For the same reasons, they also constitute a reservoir from which greedy matchmakers draw.
The Chinese
Chinese from southern China emigrated throughout Southeast Asia. They form significant minorities in many countries, including Vietnam and Indonesia. Everywhere, they are traders. They are often stigmatized and used as scapegoats when the government faces internal difficulties. In Thailand, on the other hand, since the end of the last century, many have integrated harmoniously into the population. Many Thais in Bangkok, in the administration, the army or private industry, are half or a quarter Chinese, and make no secret of it. They control a large share of the trade once despised by the Thai elites. They originally monopolized the rice trade. A few Buddhist temples will probably catch your eye, notably in Bangkok's Chinatown district, or in Phuket Town.
The Shan
Originally from Yunnan, this ethnic group played a key role in the history of Burma, and has now settled in western Thailand. They are characterized by their language, Shan, which is also part of the Tai-Kadai language family. Their main religion is Theravāda Buddhism. While there are a few tens of thousands of them living in Thailand today, mainly northwest of Chiang Mai, there are over 2 million in Myanmar, where they form one of the states of the Myanmar Federation. In rebellion against the authorities in Rangoon, they are demanding independence.
The Khmers and the Mon
The Khmer live mainly on the Cambodian border, in the provinces of Surin and Srisaket, while the Mon live on the Myanmar border and around Bangkok. These two ethnic groups share a common Mon-Khmer language, part of the Austro-Asiatic language family. There are just over a million of them in Thailand.
Mountain people or hill tribes
The Hmong. Pejoratively called "Meo" (savages) by the Thais, they came from China in the 19th century. There are around 250,000 of them in the country. They live in the mountains, in small woven bamboo houses. They practice slash-and-burn subsistence farming, which has contributed to the deforestation of Thailand's mountains. Traditionally, they also cultivate poppies, a crop that requires a great deal of care; almost horticulture. They extract opium, which they only smoke themselves in old age. It's a kind of "retreat" for the mountain dweller, tired by a hard life. He lights his pipe, once richly adorned, performing the ritual gestures slowly and diligently. With age, habit and increasing doses, the old man sinks into a gentle torpor and dies painlessly. The Hmong form clans with a close-knit structure. Their language is close to Chinese and they do not use writing. They are animists. Many Hmong from Laos fled to Thailand after 1975. They have adapted to a sedentary lifestyle, not without sorrow, but with efficiency.
The Yao. Like the Hmong, they came from China at the end of the last century. They know Chinese writing, but the origin of their language remains a mystery. There are only a few tens of thousands of them living in the mountains of northern Thailand, but several million in China, Laos and Vietnam. The women wear a magnificent costume: large turban, finely embroidered pants and a tunic adorned with red wool in a bolero around the collar. Like the Hmong, they traditionally grow slash-and-burn mountain rice and opium.
The Karen. Living in the mountains at altitudes of less than 1,000 m, they are the country's largest tribal minority, numbering almost one million. In reality, they are a mosaic of different ethnic groups. They mainly occupy the border areas with Myanmar, in central and southern Thailand, where their independence movement is jeopardizing Myanmar's stability.
The Lahu. Originally from the Tibetan plateau, they are found in the provinces of Khampeng Phet, Mae Hong Son, Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai. Outstanding hunters, they also excel in the art of weaving.
The Akhas. Originally from Tibet and China's Yunnan province, they number around 20,000 and live mainly in the mountains near the Burmese border, in small, high-altitude villages. Animists, many have converted to Christianity.
Other tribes. The Palong from Burma number 60,000. Specializing in the cultivation of tanatep, a large leaf used to wrap cigars, they also grow rice, corn, black beans and peanuts. The Lisu people, originally from Tibet, number an estimated 20,000 in northern Thailand. The Moken, a nomadic seafaring people found on the Surin Islands in the Andaman Sea. But also the Thins, the Lawas, the Khamus..
