Tai Dam people

The Tai Dam ( or Thai Dam, Thai: ไต ดำ or ไท ดำ, Vietnamese Thái đen ) are an ethnic group in Southeast Asia. They belong to the family of Tai peoples. The name Tai Dam means " black Tai" and is derived from the traditional black clothing. They are closely related to the Tai Don (or Tai Kao, "White Tai" ). Their language belongs to the same group of Chiang Saen - languages ​​, including the Thai part.

Dissemination

Approximately 700,000 Tai Dam live in Vietnam, mainly along the Red and the Black River in the province of Dien Bien, where they represent the majority of the population with other Tai groups. The Vietnamese government assigns them as part of the Thái nationality. Today's Dien Bien Phu was once the center of the Tai Dam Principality Müang Thaeng, which was conquered end of the 18th century by the Lao Kingdom of Vientiane. As a result, Tai Dam were deported as forced laborers into present-day Laos and Thailand. In Laos, the Tai Dam are counted among the Lao Thai and form 7.8% ( in the census in 1995 50,000 people ) of the population. Their settlements are scattered over the north and center of the country. In Thailand there is a village, Ban Na Pa Nat in Amphoe Chiang Khan, Loei province near the border with Laos, home to about 700 Tai Dam. Descendants of deportees Tai Dam prisoners of war also live in Phetchaburi Province. In China, live in the southeastern province of Yunnan, especially in the Autonomous District Jinping Autonomous Prefecture of Honghe, 10,000 Tai Dam. The Chinese authorities consider the Tai Dam as part of the Dai Nationality.

As a result of the Indochina War ( Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954 ) left many Tai Dam their original settlement area. Their descendants live in the U.S. state of Iowa, in France and Australia.