| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 17,000 (est.) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Thailand | |
| Languages | |
| Lawa, others | |
| Religion | |
| Animism,Buddhism[1] |
Lawa (Thai:ลัวะ orละว้า;RTGS: Lawa) are anethnic group in northernThailand. TheLawa language is related to theBlang and theWa language found inChina andBurma, and belongs to thePalaungic languages, a branch of theAustroasiatic languages. Their population is estimated to be some 17,000.[2] The Western Lawa are found in the vicinity ofMae Sariang in the south ofMae Hong Son Province, the Eastern Lawa are centred onBo Luang inChiang Mai Province.[1][3]
The Lawa are sometimes mistaken for being the same people as theLua of northernLaos and ofNan Province, Thailand, who are speakers of the more distantly relatedKhmuic languages. This problem is compounded by the Eastern Lawa of Chiang Mai Province preferring to be called Lua by outsiders, and by the Thai people generally referring to speakers of these different Palaungic languages as Lua.[3][4]
Today, those Lawa who have not been integrated in mainstream Thai society, still live a traditional way of life, often professinganimism. As with the othermountain ethnic groups of Thailand, they are known for extraordinary craft skills, especially for being ironsmiths.[1]
Gordon Luce believes that the Lawa once inhabited lands inCentral Thailand as far down asLopburi, based on the similarity between the namesLavapuri andLawa.[5] Other sources place the Lawa as the original inhabitants of Northern Thailand, pre-dating the Tai migration into these lands.[6][7][8]
There is evidence that the Lawa inhabited cities before the arrival of theTai peoples.Chiang Mai, Thailand, was founded on the location of a 5th-century CE Lawa walled city, and legends state thatKengtung in Myanmar was taken from the Lawa in the 13th century CE through cunning and deceit by KingMangrai, the founder of the northern ThaiLanna Kingdom.[9][8]
The Lawa people are mentioned in northern Thai legends, mainly in connection with the founding of its cities. The 15th century CE bookCāmadevivaṃsa by the Chiang Mai monk Bodhiramsi, relates how theMon QueenCamadevi, a princess of theLavo Kingdom, established the city ofHaripunchai (present-dayLamphun) in the 7th century CE and is attacked by Vilanga, king of the Lawa, with 80,000 soldiers. After his defeat, she marries her two sons to the two daughters of the Lawa king, after which the two kingdoms become allies.[10]
The founding of the city state ofNgoenyang in the 7th century CE, of whichMangrai was a prince before establishing theLanna Kingdom in the 13th century, is also attributed to the Lawa in theDoi Tung story.[11]
Nahhas, Ramzi W (2011)Sociolinguistic Survey of Lawa in Thailand
