 Khmu children in Laos | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 643,000 (excluding disputed Khao and Bit peoples) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Burma and China | |
| Languages | |
| Khmuic languages | |
| Religion | |
| Theravada Buddhism Animism, Shamanism, Native Ancestral Worship | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Palaungic peoples, Mon–Khmer peoples and Munda peoples |
Khmuic peoples refers to a group of ethnic groups of Southeast Asia.
The Khmuic peoples are aboriginal to Laos and surrounding areas. Most Khmuic peoples live in northern Laos and neighboring areas in Vietnam, although they can also be found in Thailand, Burma and China.
The individual Khmuic ethnic groups are as follows:
Other two groups: Khmu Chuang and Khmu Kaye are extinct or were assimilated in other ethnic groups especially Khmu Chuang was believed to be extinct, absorbed or assimilated by or into Khmer. In the ancient time, the Khmu Chuang lived in the southern part of Khmuic territory which is the area of the present day southern Laos). The Khmu Kaye lived in the eastern part of Khmuic territory which is the area of the present day Xiengkhuang province. Be in mind that some scholars confuse Khmu Cheuang [cɯaŋ] and Khmu Chuang [cuaŋ]. These two groups are not the same, Khmu Cheuang are still exist in the present day and mostly live in northwestern of Vietnam.
The following are individual ethnic groups which some scholars misunderstand that they are Khmu and speak Khmuic. In fact they are much different from Khmu, in both language and culture. There are only a few words (less than 10%) of their vocabularies that resemble Khmuic.
There are also the Khao and Bit peoples which were once thought to be Khmuic, although recent linguistic studies suggest they are probably Palaungic.
The Khmuic peoples are believed to have migrated by land from China to Laos, where they have resided for at least 4,000 years. Some 10,000 years ago, they were probably part of a largely homogeneous ethnicity, now referred to as the Austro-Asiatic peoples, with a homeland somewhere within the borders of the modern-day People's Republic of China. The prevalence of Y-DNA Haplogroup O among Austro-Asiatic peoples suggests a common ancestry with the Sino-Tibetan, Austronesian, and Hmong–Mien peoples some 35,000 years ago in China. Haplogroup O is a subclade of Y-DNA Haplogroup K, which is believed to have originated approximately 40,000 years ago somewhere between Iran and Central China. In addition to the ethnicities previously mentioned, the progenitor of Haplogroup K was the patrilineal ancestor of nearly all modern Melanesians and Native Americans. Haplogroup K, in turn, is a subclade of Y-DNA Haplogroup F, which is believed to have originated in Northern Africa some 45,000 years ago. In addition to the ethnicities previously mentioned, the progenitor of Haplogroup F was probably the ancestor of all Indo-Europeans.
Their languages belong to the Khmuic language family, which is a branch of the Austro-Asiatic language family. Most scholars agree that the Khmuic languages are part of the Mon–Khmer branch of the Austro-Asiatic family, but the validity of the Mon–Khmer branch has recently been called into question. [1]
The Khmuic are generally an agricultural people, although gathering, hunting, trapping and fishing are also parts of the Khmuic lifestyle. [2]
The Austroasiatic languages are a large language family spoken throughout mainland Southeast Asia, South Asia and East Asia. These languages are natively spoken by the majority of the population in Vietnam and Cambodia, and by minority populations scattered throughout parts of Thailand, Laos, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal, and southern China. Approximately 117 million people speak an Austroasiatic language, of which more than two-thirds are Vietnamese speakers. Of the Austroasiatic languages, only Vietnamese, Khmer, and Mon have lengthy, established presences in the historical record. Only two are presently considered to be the national languages of sovereign states: Vietnamese in Vietnam, and Khmer in Cambodia. The Mon language is a recognized indigenous language in Myanmar and Thailand, while the Wa language is a 'recognized national language' in the de facto autonomous Wa State within Myanmar. Santali is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India. The remainder of the family's languages are spoken by minority groups and have no official status.
The Ơ Đu (O'du) are an aboriginal ethnic group in Vietnam and Laos. Their total population is more than 570.
The fifteen Katuic languages form a branch of the Austroasiatic languages spoken by about 1.3 million people in Southeast Asia. People who speak Katuic languages are called the Katuic peoples. Paul Sidwell is the leading specialist on the Katuic languages. He notes that Austroasiatic/Mon–Khmer languages are lexically more similar to Katuic and Bahnaric the closer they are geographically. He says this geographic similarity is independent of which branch of the family each language belongs to. He also says Katuic and Bahnaric do not have any shared innovations, so they do not form a single branch of the Austroasiatic family, but form separate branches.
Khmu is the language of the Khmu people of the northern Laos region. It is also spoken in adjacent areas of Vietnam, Thailand and China. Khmu lends its name to the Khmuic branch of the Austroasiatic language family, the latter of which also includes Khmer and Vietnamese. Within Austroasiatic, Khmu is often cited as being most closely related to the Palaungic and Khasic languages. The name "Khmu" can also be seen romanized as Kmhmu, Khmu', Kammu, or Khamuk in various publications or alternatively referred to by the name of a local dialect.
The Khmu are an ethnic group of Southeast Asia. The majority (88%) live in northern Laos where they constitute the largest minority ethnic group, comprising eleven percent of the total population. Alternative historical English spellings include Kmhmu, Kemu, and Kơbru, among others.
The Khmuic languages are a branch of the Austroasiatic languages spoken mostly in northern Laos, as well as in neighboring northern Vietnam and southern Yunnan, China. Khmu is the only widely spoken language in the group.
The Mlabri or Mrabri, also called the Phi Tong Luang, are an ethnic group of Thailand and Laos, and have been called "the most interesting and least understood people in Southeast Asia". Only about 400 or fewer Mlabris remain in the world today, with some estimates as low as 100. A hill tribe in northern Thailand along the border with Laos, they have been groups of nomadic hunter-gatherers. Those in Thailand live close to the Hmong and northern Thai. Those living in Laos live close to other ethnic groups.
Mlabri is a language spoken by the Mlabri people in the border area between Thailand and Laos.
Phong, also known as Kniang, is an Austroasiatic language of the Mon–Khmer family, spoken in Laos. Its nearest relatives are the fellow Xinh Mul tongues, the Khang language and Puoc language, both spoken in Vietnam. The number of speakers of Phong-Kniang is estimated at 30,700.
The Senoic languages are a group of Aslian languages spoken by about 33,000 people in the main range of the Malay peninsula. Languages in the group are: Semai and Temiar, Lanoh, Sabüm, and Semnam.
The Lua people are a minority ethnic group native to Laos, although there is now a sizable community living in Thailand. Lua' is their preferred autonym (self-designation), while their Lao neighbours tend to call them Thin, T'in or Htin. Another term for this group is Lawa. There are two subgroups: the Mal and the Phai or Pray.
The Khuen people are an aboriginal ethnic group of Laos.
The Mal are an ethnic group native to Laos and Thailand. They are one of two sub-groups of the Lua people.
The Phai are an ethnic group in Thailand and Laos. They are one of two sub-groups of the Lua people.
The Ksingmul, also known as Con Pua, Puộc, and Pụa, are an ethnic group in Vietnam and Laos. In Vietnam, they live primarily in the northwest, in the provinces of Sơn La and Lai Châu. The group numbers approximately 29,503 people and its language is in the Khmuic languages group of the Mon–Khmer language family.
Bit is an Austroasiatic language spoken by around 2,000 people in Phongsaly Province, northern Laos and in Mengla County, Yunnan, China.
The Munda peoples of eastern and central parts of the Indian subcontinent are any of several Munda speaking ethno-linguistic groups of Austro-asiatic language family, formerly also known as Kolarian, and spoken by about nine million people.
Kháng, also known as Mang U’, is an Austroasiatic language of Vietnam. It is closely related to the Bumang language of southern Yunnan, China.
Nyaheun is a Mon–Khmer language of the Bahnaric branch spoken in southern Laos. Chazée (1999:95) estimates the population at 4,200, while the 1995 Laotian census places the Nyaheun population at 5,152. According to Ethnologue, the language is "vigorous," which means it is spoken by people of all ages in its home community.
| Austroasiatic (Vietic) | |
|---|---|
| Austroasiatic (non-Vietic) | |
| Hmong–Dao | |
| Tai–Kadai | |
| Sino-Tibetan languages | |
| Malayo-Polynesian | |
| Expatriate | |
| |
| Kra–Dai |
| ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austronesian |
| ||||||||||||||||
| Austroasiatic |
| ||||||||||||||||
| Sino-Tibetan |
| ||||||||||||||||
| Hmong–Mien | |||||||||||||||||
| Other | |||||||||||||||||
| Kachin (12) | |
|---|---|
| Kayah (9) | |
| Kayin (Karen) (11) | |
| Chin (53) |
|
| Bamar (Burman) (9) | |
| Mon (1) | |
| Rakhine (Arakanese) (7) | |
| Shan (33) | |
| Unrecognised / Others | |
