Tai peoplesTai 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, Thais, Isan, Tai Yai (Shan), Lao, Tai Ahom, and Northern Thai peoples. The Tai are scattered through much of South China and Mainland Southeast Asia, with some (e.g. Tai Ahom, Tai Khamti, Tai Phake, Tai Aiton) inhabiting parts of Northeast India. Tai peoples are both culturally and genetically very similar and therefore primarily identified through their language.
Isan languageIsan or Northeastern Thai (ภาษาอีสาน, ภาษาไทยถิ่นตะวันออกเฉียงเหนือ, ภาษาไทยถิ่นอีสาน, ภาษาไทยอีสาน, ภาษาลาวตะวันตก, ภาษาลาวอีสาน) refers to the local development of the Lao language in Thailand, after the political split of the Lao-speaking world at the Mekong River, with the eastern bank eventually becoming modern Laos and the western bank the Isan region of Thailand (formerly known as Siam prior to 1932), after the conclusion of the Franco-Siamese War of 1893. The language is still referred to as Lao by native speakers.
RamakienThe (รามเกียรติ์, , rāːm.mā.kīa̯n; Glory of Rama; sometimes also spelled ) is one of Thailand's national epics, it is a Thai version of the Hindu epic Ramayana. Ramakien is an important part of the Thai literary canon. King Rama VI was the person who shed the light first on the Ramayana studies in Thailand, by tracing the sources of the , comparing it with the Sanskrit Valmiki Ramayana. He found that the was influenced by three sources: the Valmiki's Ramayana, the Vishnu Purana, and Hanuman Nataka (all three are from Hinduism).
Thai literatureThai literature is the literature of the Thai people, almost exclusively written in the Thai language (although different scripts other than Thai may be used). Most of imaginative literary works in Thai, before the 19th century, were composed in poetry. Prose was reserved for historical records, chronicles, and legal documents. Consequently, the poetical forms in the Thai language are both numerous and highly developed. The corpus of Thailand's pre-modern poetic works is large.
Khmu peopleThe Khmu (kəˈmuː; Khmu: /kmm̥uʔ/ or /kmmúʔ/; ກຶມມຸ kɯ̀m.mūʔ or ຂະມຸ khā.mūʔ; ขมุ khā.mùʔ; Khơ Mú; ; ခမူ) are an ethnic group of Southeast Asia. The majority (88%) live in northern Laos where they constitute the largest minority ethnic group, comprising eleven percent of the total population. Alternative historical English spellings include Kmhmu, Kemu, and Khammu, among others. The Khmu can also be found in southwest China (in Xishuangbanna in Yunnan province), and in recent centuries have migrated to areas of Burma, Thailand and Vietnam (where they are an officially recognized ethnic group).
Mon peopleThe Mon (ဂကူမန်;(Thai Mon=ဂကူမည်); မွန်လူမျိုး, mʊ̀ɰ̃ lù mjó; มอญ, mɔ̄ːn ) are an ethnic group who inhabit Lower Myanmar's Mon State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Tanintharyi Region, Bago Region, the Irrawaddy Delta, and several areas in Thailand (mostly in Pathum Thani province, Phra Pradaeng and Nong Ya Plong). The native language is Mon, which belongs to the Monic branch of the Austroasiatic language family and shares a common origin with the Nyah Kur language, which is spoken by the people of the same name that live in Northeastern Thailand.
Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous PrefectureThe Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture is located in western Yunnan province, People's Republic of China, and is one of the eight autonomous prefectures of the province, bordering Baoshan to the east and Burma's Kachin State to the west. Tai Nuea is the origin language of the word "Dehong", in Tai Le script (the script used to write the Tai Nüa language by the Tai Nua people) is written as "ᥖᥬᥳ ᥑᥨᥒᥰ", which transliterates to Latin as "Taue Xoong". Dehong means the lower reaches of the Nu River.
Culture of ThailandThe culture of Thailand is a unique blend of various influences that have evolved over time. Local customs, animist beliefs, Buddhist traditions, and regional ethnic and cultural practices have all played a role in shaping Thai culture. Thainess, which refers to the distinctive qualities that define the national identity of Thailand, is evident in the country's history, customs, and traditions. While Buddhism remains the dominant religion in Thailand with more than 40,000 temples, Islam, Christianity, and other faiths are also practiced.
Chiang MaiChiang Mai (ˌtʃæŋ_ˈmaɪ, from เชียงใหม่ t͡ɕhīa̯ŋ màj, , เจียงใหม่ t͡ɕīa̯ŋ màj), sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second largest city in Thailand. It is north of Bangkok in a mountainous region called the Thai highlands and has a population of 1.2 million people as of 2022, which is more than 66 percent of the total population of Chiang Mai province (1.8 million).
Asian elephantThe Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus Elephas and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the north, Sumatra in the south, and to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognised—E. m. maximus from Sri Lanka, E. m. indicus from mainland Asia and E. m. sumatranus from the island of Sumatra.
