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Kra–Dai-speaking peoples

Ethnic groups of southern China and Southeast Asia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kra–Dai-speaking peoples
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The term Kra–Dai peoples or Kra–Dai-speaking peoples refers collectively to the ethnic groups of southern China and Southeast Asia, stretching from Hainan to Northeast India and from southern Sichuan to Laos, Thailand and parts of Vietnam, who not only speak languages belonging to the Kra–Dai language family, but also share similar traditions, culture and ancestry.[note 1]

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Origin

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See also: Baiyue, Vietnamese people, History of Thailand, History of Laos, History of Burma, and History of Cambodia

Chamberlain (2016) proposes that the Kra–Dai language family was formed as early as the 12th century BCE in the middle of the Yangtze basin, coinciding roughly with the establishment of the Chu state and the beginning of the Zhou dynasty.[1] Following the southward migrations of Kra and Hlai (Rei/Li) peoples around the 8th century BCE, the Yue (Be-Tai people) started to break away and move to the east coast in the present-day Zhejiang province, in the 6th century BCE, forming the state of Yue and conquering the state of Wu shortly thereafter.[1] According to Chamberlain, Yue people (Be-Tai) began to migrate southwards along the east coast of China to what are now Guangxi, Guizhou and northern Vietnam, after Yue was conquered by Chu around 333 BCE. There the Yue (Be-Tai) formed the Luo Yue, who moved into Lingnan and Annam and then westward into northeastern Laos and Sip Song Chau Tai, and later became the Central-Southwestern Tai, followed by the Xi Ou, which became the Northern Tai).[1]

Tao et. al (2023), however, suggests that the Kra-Dai language family originated from coastal south China, around the Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, and underwent a radial expansion into the Guizhou-Yunnan region, Hainan Island, and Mainland Southeast Asia. This language dispersal might also be associated with environmental change and demographic changes.[2]

Kra–Dai peoples are thought to originate from Taiwan, where they spoke a dialect of proto-Austronesian or one of its descendant languages. The Kra–Dai-speaking peoples migrated to southern China, where they brought with them the Proto-Kra–Dai language. Like the Malayo-Polynesians, they may originally have been of Austronesian descent.[3] Unlike the Malayo-Polynesian group who later sailed south to the Philippines and other parts of maritime Southeast Asia, the ancestors of the modern Kra–Dai people sailed west to mainland China and possibly traveled along the Pearl River, where their language greatly changed from other Austronesian languages under the influence of Sino-Tibetan and Hmong–Mien language infusion.[4] However, no archaeological evidence has been identified which would correspond to this Daic expansion in its earliest phases. Aside from linguistic evidence, the connection between Austronesian and Kra–Dai can also be found in some common cultural practices. Roger Blench (2008) demonstrates that dental evulsion, face tattooing, teeth blackening and snake cults are shared between the Taiwanese Austronesians and the Kra–Dai peoples of southern China.[5][6]

Overall, most theories suggest that Kra-Dai peoples are closely related to Austronesians.[7][8] They descend from a local Austronesian-related lineage in continental southeast China, ranging from Zheijiang to Guangdong, with additional gene flow from an Austroasiatic-related lineage.[9] Genetic characteristics of the Baiyue lineage are also well-preserved in Kra-Dai groups from southern China and Southeast Asia[10] although it's likely that the Baiyue themselves were multi-ethnic.[11]

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    Proposed genesis of Daic languages and their relation with Austronesian languages (Blench, 2018)[12]
  • Thumb
    Kra-Dai migration route according to James R. Chamberlain (2016).[13]
  • Thumb
    Kra–Dai migration route according to Matthias Gerner's Northeast to Southwest Hypothesis.[14]
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Linguistic subdivisions

There are five established branches of the Kra–Dai languages, which may not directly correspond to ethnicity:

  • the Tai peoples of China and much of Southeast Asia (including most notably the Thai, Lao, Isan, Shan and Zhuang, and Saek people of Laos and Thailand)
  • the Hlai people and Be people of China, especially on Hainan
  • the Kra peoples of China and Vietnam (also known as the Geyan peoples)
  • the Kam–Sui peoples (which may or not include the Biao people) in central China

The Lakkia people of Guangxi Autonomous Region of China (Tai Lakka in neighboring portions of Vietnam) are ethnically of Yao, but speak a Kra–Dai language called Lakkia.[15] These Yao were likely in an area dominated by Tai speakers and assimilated an early Kra–Dai language (possibly the language of the ancestors of the Biao people).

  • The Lingao people in Hainan Province of China speak a Kra–Dai language called Be or Lincheng, although the ethnicity of the Lingao traces back to the Han nationality.[16]
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Geographic distribution

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Further information: Kra–Dai ethnic groups in China, Tai ethnic groups in Southeast Asia, Tai ethnic groups in India, Kam–Sui peoples, and Kra languages

The Kra-Dai have historically resided in China, continental Southeast Asia and parts of northeastern India since the early Kra-Dai expansion period. Their primary geographic distribution in those countries is roughly in the shape of an arc extending from northeastern India through southern China and down to Southeast Asia. Recent Kra-Dai migrations have brought considerable numbers of Kra-Dai peoples to Japan, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, North America and Argentina as well. The greatest ethnic diversity within the Kra-Dai occurs in China, which is their prehistoric homeland.

The Kra peoples are clustered in the Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan and Hainan provinces of China, as well as the Hà Giang, Cao Bằng, Lào Cai and Sơn La provinces of Vietnam.

The Kam–Sui peoples are clustered in China as well as neighboring portions of northern Laos and Vietnam.

List of Kra–Dai-speaking peoples per country

China

In southern China, people speaking Kra-Dai languages are mainly found in Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan, Guangdong, and Hainan. According to statistics from the fourth census taken in China in 1990, the total population of these groups amounted to 23,262,000. Their distribution is as follows:

  • Dai (or Tai) have a population of about 19 million, mainly inhabiting Guangxi, Yunnan, Guangdong and parts of Guizhou and Hunan provinces.
  • Kam-Sui (Kam-Shui) have a population of about 4 million and live mainly in Hunan, Guizhou, and in Guangxi.
  • Kra have a population of about 22,000 and live mostly in Yunnan, Guangxi and Hunan.

The following is a list of the Kra–Dai ethnic groups in China:

Tai and Rauz peoples
  • Thai (Central Thai)
  • Bouyei
  • Tai Chong (Thai: ไทชอง tai chong)
  • Dai (Thai: ไทลื้อ tai léu), including the Lu, Han Tai, Huayao Tai and Paxi people
  • Tai Dam
  • Dong (Chinese: 侗族, Thai: ต้ง), including the Northern and Southern Dong people
  • E (Thai: อี๋ ĕe)
  • Tai Eolai (Thai: ไทเอวลาย Tai eo laai)
  • Fuma (Thai: ฟูมะ Fū ma)
  • Hongjin Tai
  • White Thai people
  • Tai Kaihua (Thai: ไทไขหัว tai kăi hŭa)
  • Kang
  • Tai Lai (Thai: ไทลาย tai laai)
  • Minggiay (Thai: มิงเกีย ming-gia)
  • Mo
  • Isan people
  • Tai Nuea (Thai: ไทเหนือ tai nĕua), including the Tai Mao and Tai Pong people
  • Pachen (Thai: ปาเชน bpaa chayn)
  • Tai Payee (Thai: ไทปายี่ tai bpaa yêe)
  • Pemiayao (Thai: เปเมียว bpay-mia wor)
  • Pulachee (Thai: ปูลาจี bpoo-laa jee)
  • Pulungchee (Thai: ปูลุงจี bpoo-lung-jee)
  • Puyai (Thai: ปู้ใย่ bpôo)
  • San Chay (also referred to as the Cao Lan people)
  • Shan (Thai: ไทใหญ่ yài tai), including the Cun (Thai: ไทขึน)
  • Tay (Thai: โท้)
  • Thuchen (Thai: ตูเชน dtoo chayn)
  • Thula (Thai: ตุลา dtù-laa)
  • Tai Ya people (Thai: ไทหย่า tai yàa)
  • Yoy (Thai: ไทย้อย tai yói)
  • Tay (including the Tho people)
  • Zhuang (Thai: จ้วง jûang), including the Buyang, Dianbao, Pusha, Tulao, Yongchun and Nùng (Thai: ไทนุง) people
Li/Hlai people

The Li/Hlai reside primarily, if not completely, within the Hainan Province of China.

Kra peoples

The Kra peoples are clustered in the Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan and Hainan provinces of China, as well as the Hà Giang, Cao Bằng, Lào Cai and Sơn La provinces of Vietnam.

For detailed geographic distribution, see Kra languages.
Kam–Sui peoples
Main article: Kam–Sui peoples
Cao Miao people

The Cao Miao people of Guizhou, Hunan and Guangxi Provinces speak a Kam–Sui language called Mjiuniang, although it is believed that the people are of Hmong–Mien descent.

Kang people

The Kang people of Yunnan Province (referred to as Tai Khang in Laos) speak a Kam–Sui language, but ethnically descend from the Dai people.

Biao people

The Biao people are clustered in the Guangdong Province of China.[17]

Lakkia people

The Lakkia are an ethnic group clustered in the Guangxi Province of China and neighboring portions of Vietnam, whose members are of Yao descent, but speak a Tai–Kadai language called Lakkia.[15] These Yao were likely in an area dominated by Tai speakers and assimilated an early Tai–Kadai language (possibly the language of the ancestors of the Biao people).

Lingao people

The Lingao people are an ethnic group clustered in the Hainan Province of China whose members are classified as Han under China's nationality policy, but speak a Tai–Kadai language called Lincheng.[16]

Laos

See also: Ethnic groups in Laos
Nuclear Tai peoples
Kam–Sui peoples
See also: Kam–Sui peoples

The Kam–Sui peoples are clustered in China as well as neighboring portions of northern Laos and Vietnam.

Saek people

The center of the Saek population is the Mekong River in central Laos. A smaller Saek community makes its home in the Isan region of northeast Thailand, near the border with Laos.

Thailand

See also: Ethnic groups in Thailand
Nuclear Tai peoples
Saek people

The center of the Saek population is the Mekong River in central Laos. A smaller Saek community makes its home in the Isan region of northeast Thailand, near the border with Laos.

Vietnam

Nuclear Tai peoples
Kra peoples

Myanmar

Main article: Burmese-Tai

Cambodia

India

The following groups are found in Assam, India:

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Genetics of Kra–Dai-speaking peoples

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See also: Y-DNA haplogroups in populations of East and Southeast Asia

Li (2008)

The following table of Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup frequencies of modern Kra-Dai speaking peoples is from Li, et al. (2008).[23]

More information Ethnolinguistic group, Language branch ...

Full genome analysis

The core Kra-Dai population from southern China has more Late Neolithic Fujianese-related ancestry (39.0%–53.9%) than Neolithic Mekong-related ancestry (24.9%–32.3%), which was similarly observed for present southeastern Han Chinese (28.9%–40.3% for Late Neolithic Fujianese and 21.8%–25.2% for Neolithic Mekong).[24] Alternatively, they could be modeled as having Atayal-related and Tibetan-related ancestry, with Atayal-related ancestry being estimated at ~3–38%.[25] Other studies estimate their Atayal-related ancestry at 50%, with the rest being Yellow River-related. They can also be modeled as having southeastern Asian ancestry (represented by Paiwan and other Taiwanese aborigines), northern East Asian ancestry (represented by Late Neolithic Shimao) and southern East Asian ancestry (represented by Dushan). The first two components contributed to the Kra-Dai genome in similar proportions. There's also evidence of strong affinities between Kra-Dai groups and ancient Guangxi populations, such as GaoHuaHua, BaBanQinCen, LaCen and ShenXian.[26] Kra-Dai groups from Guangxi, for example, cluster with the 1,500 year old BaBanQinCen population, who have Dushan-related ancestry (5%–64%), northern East Asian-related ancestry (19%–40%) and southern East Asian-related ancestry (5%–72%).[27]

Hlai people are considered to be one of the most isolated Kra-Dai groups, with minimal foreign admixture.[28][29][30][31] They could be modeled as having Austronesian-related ancestry and to a lesser extent, Austroasiatic-related and Northeast Asian-related ancestries. In particular, they cluster with Austronesians that harbor more divergent ancestry, such as the Ami, Atayal, and Kankanaey. Compared to other Kra-Dai groups, the Hlai did not heavily mix with ancient Guangxi populations and Han Chinese[31]and tenuously have no Denisovan introgression.[29] However, there is evidence of substantial Han Chinese admixture in some Hlai.[31][26] In addition, the Kinh Vietnamese diverged from Hlai much earlier than the Dai diverged from Hlai.[32] Other studies suggest that Longli Bouyei and Qiandongnan Dong are equally as good as Hlai in representing the ancestral Kra-Dai population. This is evident by how they cluster with Iron Age Taiwanese populations like Gongguan and Hanben, along with Neolithic to Bronze Age Fujianese populations like Xitoucun and Tanshishan. They also cluster with Kinh Vietnamese.[30]

Kra-Dai groups like the Gelaos (from Daozhen, Guiyang, Longlin or Zunyi), Dong (from Hunan, Guizhou, Qiandongnan), Longli Bouyei and Guangxi Zhuang share more alleles with Ancient Northern East Asian-related groups, who are closely related to Neolithic millet farmers from the Yellow River basin. Meanwhile, groups like Dai, Hlai and other Kra-Dai groups in Southeast Asia share more alleles with Ancient Southern East Asian-related groups. However, Longli Bouyei and Qiandongnan Dong have slightly more Ancient Southern East Asian-related ancestry. Overall, a genetic cline exists for Kra-Dai groups, with Taiwan Hanben-related ancestry increasing in southern Kra-Dai groups.[30]

A common haplogroup among Kra-Dai peoples is O1a-M119, which increases further east in China. It is also more common among Taiwanese aborigines than Austronesian populations from Southeast Asian islands.[33] Haplogroup O1b1a1a (O-M95) is likewise common in groups like Hlai, Dai and Kinh Vietnamese.[34] Maternal haplogroups B, C and D are common for Kra-Dai peoples in Mainland Southeast Asia whilst M7b and M7c are common for all Austronesians and Kra-Dai peoples.[35]

Contributions to East and Southeast Asian populations

There is evidence that Kra-Dai ancestry represents the 'southern ancestry' that was introduced in the ancestors of Han Chinese although this ancestry increases further south in China.[24][36] This ancestry can also be represented by Taiwan Hanben ancestry.[30]

Han Chinese from Fujian and Guangdong show excessive ancestries from Late Neolithic Fujianese sources (35.0–40.3%). This Late Neolithic Fujianese ancestry peaks in present Ami, Atayal and Kankanaey (66.9–74.3%) and are less significant in Han Chinese from Zhejiang (22%), Jiangsu (17%) and Shandong (8%). This suggests a significant genetic contribution from Kra-Dai-speaking peoples, or groups related to them, to southern Han Chinese. Other studies suggest actual ancient population admixture between Ami and Atayal and Han Chinese from Guangdong and Sichuan.[37][38] This admixture is also present in the ancestors of Taiwanese Han.[38] Han Chinese from Fujian and Guangdong also have ancestry from Neolithic Mekong sources but this is less significant (21.8–23.6%).[39] Guangxi Han, who possess the lowest Northern East Asian ancestry among Han subgroups (33.8 ± 4.8%), are believed to descend from Kra-Dai speakers who adopted Chinese dialects.[40] Both Guangxi and Hainan Han are also closely related to Guangdong Han.[41][42][43]However, there is evidence that Han Chinese from northern Guangxi have more Southeast Asian-related ancestry, which is closely related to Austronesian, Kra-Dai and Austroasiatic groups, than those from southern Guangxi.[44] Overall, Cantonese, Taiwanese Han and Fujianese are considered to be the most southern-shifted Han subgroups.[45][46][47] Southern Chinese also significantly share a genetic component that's more abundant in Dai and Kinh Vietnamese.[48]

Among Kra-Dai groups in northeast Thailand near the Laos border, there is 95% Lao-related ancestry although Bru have <1% Lao-related ancestry due to being an isolated Austroasiatic group. Lao-related ancestry makes up >50% of the ancestry of central Thai whilst southern Thai have 66% Nayu-related ancestry, which is a mixture of Austroasiatic, Austronesian and Kra-Dai. Zhuang-related ancestry also makes up 41% of the ancestry found in Kra-Dai groups in northern Thailand. These findings reflect historic migrations of Kra-Dai groups to Thailand via Laos or the heavy assimilation of Laotians by Thais.[49] Compared to other Austroasiatic groups in Southeast Asia, Laotians have high affinities with Kra-Dai groups from China.[49] Whilst Kinh Vietnamese also have high affinities with Kra-Dai groups,[50][51][52][53][54] they are mixed with Austroasiatic groups from Mainland Southeast Asia although this can be found in Laotians to a lesser extent.[49][55][56][57]

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Notes

  1. [N 1]
    There is some ambiguity as to the use of the term Tai peoples, as some of the peoples speaking languages in branches of the Kra–Dai language family other than the Tai languages may also call themselves Tai. Therefore the term nuclear Tai peoples is used when discussing speakers of Tai languages.

References

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