Lu people

The Tai Lü people (Chinese: 傣仂 Dǎi lè, Lao: ລື້ Lư̄, Thai: ไทลื้อ RTGS: Thai Lue, Vietnamese: Người Lự) are an ethnic group of China, Laos, Thailand, Burma, and Vietnam. They speak a Southwestern Tai language.

Lự
Total population
556,000+
Regions with significant populations
China (Xishuangbanna), Burma (Myanmar), Laos, Thailand (Northern Thailand), and Vietnam (Lai Châu Province)
 China280,000 (2000) classified as Dai
 Laos126,229 (2015) classified as Lue[1]
 Thailand83,000 (2001) classified as Thai Lue
 Burma60,000 (2013) classified as Shan
 Vietnam6,757 (2019) classified as Lự[2]
 United States4,000 (1998)[3]
Languages
Tai Lü • Chinese • Laotian • Thai • Northern Thai • Vietnamese
Religion
Buddhism

Etymology

The word Lü (ລື້) is similar to the Laos people in the Tai Lü language.

Distribution

In Vietnam, most Lu live in Lai Châu Province, and their population was 5,601 in 2009. In China, they are officially recognized as part of the Dai ethnic group. The 2000 census counted about 280,000 Dai people speaking Lü language. The population in Thailand, where they are called Thai Lue (Thai: ไทลื้อ), was in 2001 estimated to be approximately 83,000.[4] Most Thai Lue in Thailand live in Nan, Chiang Rai, Phayao and Chiang Mai Province.

In Vietnam, Lu are the indigenous people in Mường Thanh ("Land of the God of Tai people", Tai Lü: muong theng). They had built Tam Vạn wall in Mường Thanh and managed there for 19 generations before Hoàng Công Chất, a Thái leader, came. Nowadays, nearly all Vietnamese Lu live in Lai Châu Province. The Lu take their father's last name and have the middle name Bạ (for males) and Ý (for females). Their religion is Theravada Buddhism. They sing khắp lự and play pí me luk ("mother-children" flute).

Tai Lü Kingdom
Names Capital
Tseng Mai Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand
Tseng Hai Chiang Rai, Chiang Rai Province, Thailand
Tseng Hung Jinghong, Yunnan Province, China
Xieng Thong Luang Prabang, Luang Prabang Province, Laos
Tseng Tung Kengtung, Shan State, Myanmar
  • Lu Woman in Laos, c. 1900
  • Lu Woman in Laos, c. 1900
  • A Thai Lue Buddha statue in Wat Non Bua, Tha Wang Pha District, Thailand
  • A Thai Lue musician plays in the garden of Wat Nong Bua, Tha Wang Pha District, Thailand
  • The interior of the wihan of Wat Nong Daeng, Chiang Klang District, Thailand
  • Vat Nam Keo Luang in Muang Sing, Laos
  • The interior of Vat Xieng Chai, Muang Sing, Laos

References
  1. "Results of Population and Housing Census 2015" (PDF). Lao Statistics Bureau. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  2. "Report on Results of the 2019 Census". General Statistics Office of Vietnam. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  3. Tai Lue, Infomekong.com
  4. Johnstone and Mandryk 2001; cited in "Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Online version" (18th ed.). SIL International.
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