Burma / Myanmar: Two Tai Leng in ethnic dress. The Shan text identifies them as Tai Leng [= Tai Daeng, or 'Red Tai'] and the Burmese as Shan Ni. Both wear elaborate turbans, and one carries an umbrella.

A hand-drawn, hand-coloured watercolour from the late 19th century by an unknown Burmese artist.

The name of the ethnic group featured appears near the top of the picture in Shan script (left), Burmese script (Centre) and Khun script (right). Khun script was formerly used in Kengtung / Kyaingtong in eastern Shan State and in Lan Na or Lanna, northern Thailand.

The Tai ethnicity refers collectively to the ethnic groups of southern China and Southeast Asia, stretching from Hainan to eastern India and from southern Sichuan to Laos, Thailand, and parts of Vietnam, which speak languages in the Tai family and share similar traditions and festivals, including the water festival. Despite never having a unified nation-state of their own, the peoples also have historically shared a vague idea of a "Siam" nation, corrupted to Shan or Assam in some places.

Copyright:

Supplier: CPA Media Co. Ltd

Credit:

Pictures From History

Theme:

Burmese Peoples,