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In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
During the late 19th century, all the territory stretching from Dien Bien Phu in the south to the Chinese frontier in the north formed an autonomous region called Sipsongchutai, or ‘Twelve Tai Principalities’. It was ruled over by a hereditary White Tai prince from his capital at Lai Chau and paid tribute, at one time or another, to Siam, Vietnam or China, and sometimes to all three.<br/><br/> At this time the White Tai chieftain was Kham Sing, known to the Vietnamese as Deo Van Seng. He ruled over Sipsongchutai from his capital at Lai Chau, but was old and tired, so real power had already passed to his eldest son, the fiercely independent Kham Hum, known to the Vietnamese (and to the recently arrived French) as Deo Van Tri.<br/><br/> Neither Deo Van Seng nor Deo Van Tri wanted to submit completely either to Bangkok or to Hanoi, preferring to pursue the delicate balancing act between the two that had for long years allowed continuing autonomy. But times were changing fast, maps being drawn and frontiers delimited as modern nation states came into being in mainland Southeast Asia.<br/><br/> Accordingly in 1889 Deo Van Tri signed a treaty with France making Sipsongchutai a semi-autonomous region within the French Protectorate of Tonkin – and therefore, ultimately, a part of Vietnam.
During the late 19th century, all the territory stretching from Dien Bien Phu in the south to the Chinese frontier in the north formed an autonomous region called Sipsongchutai, or ‘Twelve Tai Principalities’. It was ruled over by a hereditary White Tai prince from his capital at Lai Chau and paid tribute, at one time or another, to Siam, Vietnam or China, and sometimes to all three.<br/><br/> At this time the White Tai chieftain was Kham Sing, known to the Vietnamese as Deo Van Seng. He ruled over Sipsongchutai from his capital at Lai Chau, but was old and tired, so real power had already passed to his eldest son, the fiercely independent Kham Hum, known to the Vietnamese (and to the recently arrived French) as Deo Van Tri.<br/><br/> Neither Deo Van Seng nor Deo Van Tri wanted to submit completely either to Bangkok or to Hanoi, preferring to pursue the delicate balancing act between the two that had for long years allowed continuing autonomy. But times were changing fast, maps being drawn and frontiers delimited as modern nation states came into being in mainland Southeast Asia.<br/><br/> Accordingly in 1889 Deo Van Tri signed a treaty with France making Sipsongchutai a semi-autonomous region within the French Protectorate of Tonkin – and therefore, ultimately, a part of Vietnam.
Đèo Văn Long was the French leader of the Autonomous Tai Federation of Northwestern Tonkin in post-war French Indochina.<br/><br/> Under his father Deo Van Tri, he was the scion of a hereditary feudal noble line with roots in Yunnan province. He generated much revenue for the Federation by acting as a middleman in the opium traffic between the Tai Federation and the French.<br/><br/> He compelled the Hmong of the Federation to sell to him at below-market prices, thus making enormous profit from his sales to the French. This made him rich, but severed his relationship with the Hmong of the Federation, who supported the Viet Minh during the First Indochina War. His use of force to suppress Hmong resistance also decreased his popularity with the Hmong.<br/><br/> As the Dien Bien Phu campaign came to an end, he was helicoptered away to Hanoi. He later immigrated to France as a refugee, but died shortly thereafter. He was succeeded by Deo Nang Toi.
Đèo Văn Long was the French leader of the Autonomous Tai Federation of Northwestern Tonkin in post-war French Indochina.<br/><br/> Under his father Deo Van Tri, he was the scion of a hereditary feudal noble line with roots in Yunnan province. He generated much revenue for the Federation by acting as a middleman in the opium traffic between the Tai Federation and the French.<br/><br/> He compelled the Hmong of the Federation to sell to him at below-market prices, thus making enormous profit from his sales to the French. This made him rich, but severed his relationship with the Hmong of the Federation, who supported the Viet Minh during the First Indochina War. His use of force to suppress Hmong resistance also decreased his popularity with the Hmong.<br/><br/> As the Dien Bien Phu campaign came to an end, he was helicoptered away to Hanoi. He later immigrated to France as a refugee, but died shortly thereafter. He was succeeded by Deo Nang Toi.
Đèo Văn Long was the French leader of the Autonomous Tai Federation of Northwestern Tonkin in post-war French Indochina.<br/><br/> Under his father Deo Van Tri, he was the scion of a hereditary feudal noble line with roots in Yunnan province. He generated much revenue for the Federation by acting as a middleman in the opium traffic between the Tai Federation and the French.<br/><br/> He compelled the Hmong of the Federation to sell to him at below-market prices, thus making enormous profit from his sales to the French. This made him rich, but severed his relationship with the Hmong of the Federation, who supported the Viet Minh during the First Indochina War. His use of force to suppress Hmong resistance also decreased his popularity with the Hmong.<br/><br/> As the Dien Bien Phu campaign came to an end, he was helicoptered away to Hanoi. He later immigrated to France as a refugee, but died shortly thereafter. He was succeeded by Deo Nang Toi.
During the late 19th century, all the territory stretching from Dien Bien Phu in the south to the Chinese frontier in the north formed an autonomous region called Sipsongchutai, or ‘Twelve Tai Principalities’. It was ruled over by a hereditary White Tai prince from his capital at Lai Chau and paid tribute, at one time or another, to Siam, Vietnam or China, and sometimes to all three.<br/><br/> At this time the White Tai chieftain was Kham Sing, known to the Vietnamese as Deo Van Seng. He ruled over Sipsongchutai from his capital at Lai Chau, but was old and tired, so real power had already passed to his eldest son, the fiercely independent Kham Hum, known to the Vietnamese (and to the recently arrived French) as Deo Van Tri.<br/><br/> Neither Deo Van Seng nor Deo Van Tri wanted to submit completely either to Bangkok or to Hanoi, preferring to pursue the delicate balancing act between the two that had for long years allowed continuing autonomy. But times were changing fast, maps being drawn and frontiers delimited as modern nation states came into being in mainland Southeast Asia.<br/><br/> Accordingly in 1889 Deo Van Tri signed a treaty with France making Sipsongchutai a semi-autonomous region within the French Protectorate of Tonkin – and therefore, ultimately, a part of Vietnam.
During the late 19th century, all the territory stretching from Dien Bien Phu in the south to the Chinese frontier in the north formed an autonomous region called Sipsongchutai, or ‘Twelve Tai Principalities’. It was ruled over by a hereditary White Tai prince from his capital at Lai Chau and paid tribute, at one time or another, to Siam, Vietnam or China, and sometimes to all three.<br/><br/> At this time the White Tai chieftain was Kham Sing, known to the Vietnamese as Deo Van Seng. He ruled over Sipsongchutai from his capital at Lai Chau, but was old and tired, so real power had already passed to his eldest son, the fiercely independent Kham Hum, known to the Vietnamese (and to the recently arrived French) as Deo Van Tri.<br/><br/> Neither Deo Van Seng nor Deo Van Tri wanted to submit completely either to Bangkok or to Hanoi, preferring to pursue the delicate balancing act between the two that had for long years allowed continuing autonomy. But times were changing fast, maps being drawn and frontiers delimited as modern nation states came into being in mainland Southeast Asia.<br/><br/> Accordingly in 1889 Deo Van Tri signed a treaty with France making Sipsongchutai a semi-autonomous region within the French Protectorate of Tonkin – and therefore, ultimately, a part of Vietnam.
During the late 19th century, all the territory stretching from Dien Bien Phu in the south to the Chinese frontier in the north formed an autonomous region called Sipsongchutai, or ‘Twelve Tai Principalities’. It was ruled over by a hereditary White Tai prince from his capital at Lai Chau and paid tribute, at one time or another, to Siam, Vietnam or China, and sometimes to all three.<br/><br/> At this time the White Tai chieftain was Kham Sing, known to the Vietnamese as Deo Van Seng. He ruled over Sipsongchutai from his capital at Lai Chau, but was old and tired, so real power had already passed to his eldest son, the fiercely independent Kham Hum, known to the Vietnamese (and to the recently arrived French) as Deo Van Tri.<br/><br/> Neither Deo Van Seng nor Deo Van Tri wanted to submit completely either to Bangkok or to Hanoi, preferring to pursue the delicate balancing act between the two that had for long years allowed continuing autonomy. But times were changing fast, maps being drawn and frontiers delimited as modern nation states came into being in mainland Southeast Asia.<br/><br/> Accordingly in 1889 Deo Van Tri signed a treaty with France making Sipsongchutai a semi-autonomous region within the French Protectorate of Tonkin – and therefore, ultimately, a part of Vietnam.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.<br/><br/> One of the most successful and confident non-Kinh communities in Vietnam, the Black Tai farm rich rice paddies in the irrigated uplands of the northwest and enjoy a standard of living far superior to most other tribal peoples in the region. A high value is set on education, and the position of women, particularly in commerce, is paramount.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.<br/><br/> One of the most successful and confident non-Kinh communities in Vietnam, the Black Tai farm rich rice paddies in the irrigated uplands of the northwest and enjoy a standard of living far superior to most other tribal peoples in the region. A high value is set on education, and the position of women, particularly in commerce, is paramount.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
During the late 19th century, all the territory stretching from Dien Bien Phu in the south to the Chinese frontier in the north formed an autonomous region called Sipsongchutai, or ‘Twelve Tai Principalities’. It was ruled over by a hereditary White Tai prince from his capital at Lai Chau and paid tribute, at one time or another, to Siam, Vietnam or China, and sometimes to all three.<br/><br/> At this time the White Tai chieftain was Kham Sing, known to the Vietnamese as Deo Van Seng. He ruled over Sipsongchutai from his capital at Lai Chau, but was old and tired, so real power had already passed to his eldest son, the fiercely independent Kham Hum, known to the Vietnamese (and to the recently arrived French) as Deo Van Tri.<br/><br/> Neither Deo Van Seng nor Deo Van Tri wanted to submit completely either to Bangkok or to Hanoi, preferring to pursue the delicate balancing act between the two that had for long years allowed continuing autonomy. But times were changing fast, maps being drawn and frontiers delimited as modern nation states came into being in mainland Southeast Asia.<br/><br/> Accordingly in 1889 Deo Van Tri signed a treaty with France making Sipsongchutai a semi-autonomous region within the French Protectorate of Tonkin – and therefore, ultimately, a part of Vietnam.
During the late 19th century, all the territory stretching from Dien Bien Phu in the south to the Chinese frontier in the north formed an autonomous region called Sipsongchutai, or ‘Twelve Tai Principalities’. It was ruled over by a hereditary White Tai prince from his capital at Lai Chau and paid tribute, at one time or another, to Siam, Vietnam or China, and sometimes to all three.<br/><br/> At this time the White Tai chieftain was Kham Sing, known to the Vietnamese as Deo Van Seng. He ruled over Sipsongchutai from his capital at Lai Chau, but was old and tired, so real power had already passed to his eldest son, the fiercely independent Kham Hum, known to the Vietnamese (and to the recently arrived French) as Deo Van Tri.<br/><br/> Neither Deo Van Seng nor Deo Van Tri wanted to submit completely either to Bangkok or to Hanoi, preferring to pursue the delicate balancing act between the two that had for long years allowed continuing autonomy. But times were changing fast, maps being drawn and frontiers delimited as modern nation states came into being in mainland Southeast Asia.<br/><br/> Accordingly in 1889 Deo Van Tri signed a treaty with France making Sipsongchutai a semi-autonomous region within the French Protectorate of Tonkin – and therefore, ultimately, a part of Vietnam.
During the late 19th century, all the territory stretching from Dien Bien Phu in the south to the Chinese frontier in the north formed an autonomous region called Sipsongchutai, or ‘Twelve Tai Principalities’. It was ruled over by a hereditary White Tai prince from his capital at Lai Chau and paid tribute, at one time or another, to Siam, Vietnam or China, and sometimes to all three.<br/><br/> At this time the White Tai chieftain was Kham Sing, known to the Vietnamese as Deo Van Seng. He ruled over Sipsongchutai from his capital at Lai Chau, but was old and tired, so real power had already passed to his eldest son, the fiercely independent Kham Hum, known to the Vietnamese (and to the recently arrived French) as Deo Van Tri.<br/><br/> Neither Deo Van Seng nor Deo Van Tri wanted to submit completely either to Bangkok or to Hanoi, preferring to pursue the delicate balancing act between the two that had for long years allowed continuing autonomy. But times were changing fast, maps being drawn and frontiers delimited as modern nation states came into being in mainland Southeast Asia.<br/><br/> Accordingly in 1889 Deo Van Tri signed a treaty with France making Sipsongchutai a semi-autonomous region within the French Protectorate of Tonkin – and therefore, ultimately, a part of Vietnam.
During the late 19th century, all the territory stretching from Dien Bien Phu in the south to the Chinese frontier in the north formed an autonomous region called Sipsongchutai, or ‘Twelve Tai Principalities’. It was ruled over by a hereditary White Tai prince from his capital at Lai Chau and paid tribute, at one time or another, to Siam, Vietnam or China, and sometimes to all three.<br/><br/> At this time the White Tai chieftain was Kham Sing, known to the Vietnamese as Deo Van Seng. He ruled over Sipsongchutai from his capital at Lai Chau, but was old and tired, so real power had already passed to his eldest son, the fiercely independent Kham Hum, known to the Vietnamese (and to the recently arrived French) as Deo Van Tri.<br/><br/> Neither Deo Van Seng nor Deo Van Tri wanted to submit completely either to Bangkok or to Hanoi, preferring to pursue the delicate balancing act between the two that had for long years allowed continuing autonomy. But times were changing fast, maps being drawn and frontiers delimited as modern nation states came into being in mainland Southeast Asia.<br/><br/> Accordingly in 1889 Deo Van Tri signed a treaty with France making Sipsongchutai a semi-autonomous region within the French Protectorate of Tonkin – and therefore, ultimately, a part of Vietnam.
Hồ Chí Minh, born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyễn Ái Quốc (19 May 1890 – 3 September 1969) was a Vietnamese Communist revolutionary leader who was prime minister (1946–1955) and president (1945–1969) of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam). He formed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and led the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War until his death.<br/><br/> Hồ led the Viet Minh independence movement from 1941 onward, establishing the communist-governed Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945 and defeating the French Union in 1954 at Dien Bien Phu. He lost political power inside North Vietnam in the late 1950s, but remained as the highly visible figurehead president until his death.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.<br/><br/> These subgroups are distinguished by the dress of their women. Vietnam’s Tai are people of the mountain valleys. Farming wet rice paddy fields they are relatively prosperous, enjoying more security and an appreciably higher standard of living than the people of the mountaintops. They are culturally confident, too, and well known throughout the north for their fine weaving and embroidery, sophisticated music and dance, as well as their business acumen in the marketplace.<br/><br/> Closely related to the neighbouring Lao, Thai, Shan of Burma and Dai of China’s Yunnan Province, they have lived for centuries in the fertile uplands between the Truong Son and Hoang Lien ranges – certainly long before the region became part of Vietnam – and have a rich literary legacy and folklore.
In the narrow mountain valleys of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces of North Vietnam the Tai remain a very noticeable and confident minority. They are divided into White Tai and Black Tai communities, while further south, by the Lao frontier in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, Red Tai predominate.