Isan people
The Isan people (Thai: คนอีสาน, rtgs: Khon Isan, Thai pronunciation: [kʰon iːsǎːn]; Lao: ຄົນອີສານ, also known as T(h)ai Isan, Thai-Lao, Lao Isan, Isan Lao or "Northeastern Thai") are an ethnic group native to Northeastern Thailand ("Isan") with an estimated population of about 22 million.[1] Like Thais and Laos, they belong to the linguistic family of Tai peoples.
Their language (Isan language) and culture have Lao roots and are closer to those of the country of Laos than to those of Central Thailand. The reasons to consider Isan as a distinct ethnicity from the Laotians are both historical and social.[1] The people of Isan are Thai nationals, and because of a long time policy of Thaification are increasingly oriented toward the dominant Central Thai culture.[2]
Thailand's policy is not to regard Isan as a separate ethnicity, but officially to consider all Tai groups living in Thailand as part of the Thai people. This has successfully downplayed their Lao kinship and led to the development of a distinct regional Isan identity.[3] About 88% of the people habitually speak the Isan language at home, while 11% say they speak both Isan and Central Thai among themselves, and only 1% speak Central Thai exclusively.[1]
Millions of people have migrated from Isan to the Bangkok agglomeration seeking work and they constitute at least one-fourth of the capital's population.[4][5] About 8,000 from Isan live in Laos on the eastern bank of the Mekong River, which forms much of the border with Thailand. Others have emigrated to Malaysia, Singapore, and western countries such as Australia and the United States.[1]
See also
Further reading
- David Brown (1994). "Internal colonialism and ethnic rebellion in Thailand". The State and Ethnic Politics in Southeast Asia. Routledge. pp. 109–142.
- Volker Grabowsky, ed. (1995). "The Northeast (Isan)". Regions and National Integration in Thailand, 1892-1992. Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 105–192.
- Duncan McCargo; Krisadawan Hongladarom (June 2004). "Contesting Isan-ness: Discourses of Politics and Identity in Northeast Thailand". Asian Ethnicity 5 (2): 219–234. doi:10.1080/1463136042000221898.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Hattaway, Paul (ed.) (2004), "Isan", Peoples of the Buddhist World (William Carey Library): 103
- ↑ Miller, Terry E.; Shahriari, Andrew (2012), "Laos and Northeastern Thailand", World Music: A Global Journey (Third ed.) (Routledge): 154
- ↑ Sadan, Mandy (2004), "Lao", Southeast Asia: A Historical Encyclopedia, from Angkor Wat to East Timor (ABC-CLIO): 766
- ↑ Brody, Alyson (2007), "From the Farm to Bangkok: Shifting Patterns of Migration in Thailand", Livelihoods at the Margins: Surviving the City (Left Coast Press): 130
- ↑ Goodman, Jim (2004), "People of the Isan", Cultures of the World: Thailand (Times Books International): 52
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