Dai people
|
|
The Dai is the officially recognized name of an ethnic group living in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture and the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture (both in southern Yunnan Province of China), and also in Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar. The Dai people form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China.
Although they are officially recognized as a single people by the Chinese state, the Dai people form several distinct cultural and linguistic groups. The two main languages of the Dai are Tai Lü (Xishuangbanna Dai) and Tai Nüa (Dehong Dai); two other written languages used by the Dai in China are Tai Pong and Tai Dam (Black Tai). They all are Tai languages, a group of related languages that includes Thai, Lao, and Zhuang, and part of the Tai-Kadai language family. The Dai peoples follow their traditional religion and Theravada Buddhism, and maintain similar customs and festivals to the other Tai-speaking peoples.
Dai people are typically farmers, growing a variety of tropical crops such as pineapples, in addition to the staple crop of rice. Many Dai people live near the Mekong river where it meanders through the far south of Yunnan.
Dai groups and names
| Chinese | Pinyin | Tai Lü | Tai Nüa | Thai | Conventional | Area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 傣仂 （西双版纳傣） | Dǎilè (Xīshuāngbǎnnà Dǎi) | tai51 lɯː11 | Tai Lü, Tai Lue | Xishuangbanna | ||
| 傣那 （德宏傣） | Dǎinà (Déhóng Dǎi) | tai51 nəː55 | tai le6 | tai nɯa5 | Tai Nüa, Northern Tai, Upper Tai, Chinese Shan | Dehong; Myanmar |
| 傣担 | Dǎidān | tai51 dam55 | Black Tai; Tai Lam, Lao Song Dam (lit. "Lao [wearing] black trousers"), Tai Muan, Tai Tang, Tai Tan | Jinping 金平; Laos, Thailand | ||
| 傣绷 | Dǎibēng | tai51 pɔːŋ66 | Ruili 瑞丽, Gengma 耿马, along the Mekong | |||
| 傣端 | Dǎiduān | tai51 doːn55 | White Tai | Jinping 金平 | ||
| 傣雅 | Dǎiyǎ | tai51 jaː35 | Xinping 新平, Yuanjiang 元江 | |||
| 傣友 | Dǎiyǒu | tai51 jiu11 | Yuanyang 元阳, along the Red River |
|
Chinese ethnic groups (classification by PRC government) |
|
Achang - Bai - Blang - Bonan - Buyei - Chosen - Dai - Daur - De'ang - Derung - Dong - Dongxiang - Ewenki - Gaoshan - Gelao - Gin - Han - Hani - Hezhen - Hui - Jingpo - Jino - Kazak - Kirgiz - Lahu - Lhoba - Li - Lisu - Man - Maonan - Miao - Monba - Mongol - Mulao - Naxi - Nu - Oroqen - Pumi - Qiang - Russ - Salar - She - Sui - Tajik - Tatar - Tu - Tujia - Uygur - Uzbek - Va - Xibe - Yao - Yi - Yugur - Zang - Zhuang |