Lua people
Thin, T'in, Htin, ຖິ່ນ | |
|---|---|
Theravada Buddhism, Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Mlabri and Khmu[2] |
The Lua people (IPA: Phai or Pray.[1]
The Lua speak
Pak Tha District).[4] In Thailand, most Lua settle in Nan province, close to the border with Laos.[2]
Cultural history
The Lua's traditional beliefs are characterized by
Lao New Year (Songkran). In order to win the spirits' blessings for a good harvest, a newlywed couple, help in cases of natural disasters or diseases, etc., the Lua try to appease them with offerings of pigs, poultry, rice or liquor. Traditional Lua villages display a "spirit gate" to protect them from all evils coming from the outside world. To mediate between the living and the spirit world, each village chooses a male shaman, called khawcam.[5]
There is some academic debate whether the Lua have already settled in their present home area since the 1st millennium AD (like the
Nan Province, before moving to Laos and later re-migrating to their original homeland.[4]
Following the communist victory in the
Nan Province across the border in Thailand. There was a large concentration of Lua refugees at Ban Vinai Refugee Camp
in Thailand. In the early 1970s and 1980s, Lua families relocated to the United States. Today, there is a large Lua community in the state of California, expanding from Santa Rosa, Fresno, Modesto, Stockton, Sacramento, and other parts of the state of California, and also including the states of Minnesota, Tennessee, Washington, Iowa, and Illinois. Families who remained in the camps in Thailand resettled in Sainyabuli and neighboring provinces in the mid-1980s and early 1990s, where the Lua people had been originally displaced due to the wars in Southeast Asia.
Further reading
- Judy Lewis and Damrong Tayanin. Minority cultures of Laos: Kammu, Lua', Lahu, Hmong, and Mien. 1992. ISBN 978-1-882337-01-9
- Joachim Schliesinger (2003). Ethnic Groups of Laos, Volume 2: Profile of Austro-Asiatic-Speaking Peoples. White Lotus. pp. 160–165.
References
- ^ a b Joachim Schliesinger (2003). Ethnic Groups of Laos, Volume 1: Introduction and Overview. White Lotus. p. 171.
- ^ a b c Joachim Schliesinger (2003). Ethnic Groups of Laos, Volume 2: Profile of Austro-Asiatic-Speaking Peoples. White Lotus. p. 161.
- ^ Frank Proschan. "A Survey of Khmuic and Palaungic Languages in Laos and Vietnam" (PDF). Pan-Asiatic Linguistics. 3: 895–919, at pp. 896, 898.
- ^ a b Joachim Schliesinger (2003). Ethnic Groups of Laos, Volume 2: Profile of Austro-Asiatic-Speaking Peoples. White Lotus. p. 160.
- ^ Joachim Schliesinger (2003). Ethnic Groups of Laos, Volume 2: Profile of Austro-Asiatic-Speaking Peoples. White Lotus. p. 164.
External links
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