Katang people

A Katang woman in Laos.

The Katang (Kataang) are an ethnic group predominantly living in Laos. A few live elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

In 2015 there were 144,255 living in Laos, making them one of the largest subgroups of the Lao Theung and one of the largest true ethnic groups in the country. Most live in Savannakhet, Saravan, and Champassack.

Culture

They are one of the few Lao Theung people that do not live in houses on stilts or in trees, but rather in long wooden houses. Whenever a Katang man marries a woman, he will add a room to the house for his new family. One of these wooden longhouses is 328 feet long and tourists can still see it just north of Saravan City.

Another old Katang tradition for both men and women is to pierce their ears and put a bamboo tube in the hole to stretch out their lobes. This tradition has all but died out.

Most Katang follow old ethnic beliefs and many people who do this also follow Buddhism. There are less than four-hundred Katang Christians because many fear Christianity will bring a curse to their people. Islam is popular with Katang women married to Muslim Foreign Nationals in Laos.

References