The Tai and The Tai Kingdom
The Tai : their Origin and Branches
The “Tai” is a generic name denoting a great branch of the
Mongoloid population of Asia. The Tai are now mainly concentrated in the
Indo-Chinese peninsula. The present habitat of the Tai people extends from
Assam in the west to Kwansi and Hainan in the east and from the interior of
Yun-nan in the north to the southernmost extremity of Thailand (Siam) in the
south.
Wherever they have spread the Tai have acquired local
appellations. In the sour major areas of East Asia, namely, Burma, Thailand
(Siam), French Indo-China and Yun-nan they are known respectively as the Shan,
Siamese, Lao and Pai. The Tai groups and sub-groups in this vast region are
known by innumerable other local names which, at times, tend to obscure their
racial identity. There are many instances of the same groups being named
differently by different peoples and at different historical periods. But the
members of this great race, to whatever local groups they may belong call
themselves Tai.
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