A brief introduction to the Dai people

The Dai people (Roman letters: Dai), also known as the Tai people (Thai: , Roman letters: Thai), Shan (Roman letters: Shan), etc., their national language is Dai (Thai), which belongs to Han The Tibetan language belongs to the Zhuang-Dai branch of the Zhuang-Dong language family.

The Dai people regard peacocks and elephants as mascots and have rich and colorful folk stories. The Dai people like to live by water. They love to be clean and bathe often, and women love to wash their hair, so they are known as the "water nation". In the past, the Dai people generally believed in Theravada Buddhism and primitive religions.

The Dai people are the main ethnic group in Thailand and Laos, accounting for 40% of the total population of Thailand. The Dai people are also the second largest ethnic group in Myanmar and are ethnic minorities in China, India, Vietnam, Cambodia and other countries. According to the sixth census data in 2010, there are more than 1.26 million Dai people in China.

The distribution areas of the Dai people in China include Dai Lu, Dai Na, Dai Ya, Dai Biao, Dai Duan, etc. Call yourself. Xishuangbanna and other places call themselves "Dai Lai", Dehong and other places call themselves "Dai Na", the Dai people in Xinping, Yuanjiang and other places in the middle and upper reaches of the Red River call themselves "Dai Ya", and those on the borders of Ruili, Longchuan and Gengma call themselves "Dai Biao". Lancang Mangjing and Mangna are the Daibang branch. The Han people call Dai Lai the Water Dai, Dai Na the Dry Dai, and Dai Ya the Huayao Dai.

As early as the 1st century AD, Chinese historical records already contain records about the ancestors of the Dai people. Documents of the Tang and Song Dynasties called it "gold teeth", "black teeth", "silver teeth", "embroidered feet", "embroidered faces", "mangman", "white clothes", etc. In the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, it was still called "Gold Teeth" and "White Clothes". "Bai Yi" is also written as "Bai Yi", "Bai Yi", and "Bo Yi". Some people mistakenly call it "Bo Yi", which leads to confusion with the Bai people. Since the Qing Dynasty, it has been called "Pai Yi". In addition, Vietnamese historical records refer to the Dai people as "Ailao"; Myanmar historical records refer to the Dai people as "Shan"; Indian historical records refer to the Dai people as "Ahom".

After World War II, governments of various countries named the Dai people distributed in their respective territories. Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia were called Thai, Laos was called Lao, and Myanmar was called Shan. (Shan) is called Dai in China and Ahom in India, but they all call themselves Tai

Extended information:

The Dai people’s staple food is rice. Dehong area eats japonica rice, while Xishuangbanna and other places like to eat glutinous rice, which is usually freshly pounded and eaten.

The famous fragrant bamboo rice of the Dai people, also known as bamboo tube rice, is made by putting glutinous rice in a fragrant bamboo tube, soaking it in water for 15 minutes, and then baking it over fire. When eating, beat the bamboo tube to make it soft, and the bamboo film on the inner wall of the bamboo tube will stick to the rice. Cut it in half with a knife, and the fragrant bamboo rice will come out of the bamboo. The aroma is rich, and the rice is soft and delicate. There is also the unique pineapple purple rice, which is sweet and delicious, and has the effect of nourishing blood and moisturizing the lungs.

Migrant workers often eat outdoors. They use banana leaves to hold a ball of glutinous rice, along with salt, spicy pepper, sour meat, roast chicken, rice noodles, and moss pine. Meats include pigs, beef, chickens, and ducks. They do not eat or eat less mutton. They are good at roasting and roasting chickens. They like to eat fish, shrimps, crabs, snails, moss and other aquatic products. Commonly eaten vegetables include cabbage, radish, bamboo shoots and beans.

Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia-Dai Nationality