tai origins
The Tai are a diverse ethno-linguistic group that span from southern China to northern India. Historical evidence suggests that they likely originated from regions such as the Yangtze River Valley, northern Laos, or Vietnam.
Conflict with Chinese dynasties led to waves of migration from the 8th century onwards. The earliest Tai settlements in Thailand were in the river valleys in the northern reaches of the country, where they use their specialized agricultural knowledge relating to the use of mountain farming, especially rice cultivation.
The Tai practiced nature worship, with beliefs that involved both malevolent and benevolent spirits. Appeasement of the spirits were through offerings and special ceremonies. From the 10th century onwards, the Tais gradually moved southward into the Chao Phraya valley. This brought them into contact with the local Mon-Khmer ethnic groups that were inhabiting the region, who practiced Hinduism and Buddhism.
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By the 11th century, the Tai had formed small independent principalities, that later grew to regional kingdoms such as Lanna, Phayao, that also adopted Hindu – Buddhist culture. This was followed by national kingdoms of Sukhothai and Ayutthaya. and the Mon and Khmer powers waned. ​
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Over centuries the centuries the Tai intermarried people of Mon, Khmer, Malay, and Chinese descent. This fusion of ethnicity has led to considerable diversity in the modern Thai people. It also gave rise to a population with its own unique beliefs, practices, language, food, clothing, and way of life that differ from other Tai ethnic groups of other countries.