Lua people

The Lua people are a minority ethnic group native to <a href="/facts/Laos/S0afugjX">Laos</a>, although there is now a sizable community living in <a href="/facts/Thailand/GCUnN4JK">Thailand</a>. Luaʼ is their preferred <a href="/facts/Exonym_and_endonym/8pyd1nE9">autonym</a> (self-designation), while their <a href="/facts/Lao_people/Stshtq3J">Lao</a> neighbours tend to call them Thin (Tʻin or Htin; <a href="/facts/Lao_language/Gfwndgl0">Lao</a>: ຖິ່ນ Lao pronunciation: [tʰin]). Another term for this group is Lawa (but they have to be distinguished from the unrelated <a href="/facts/Lawa_people/bS9W5YK4">Lawa people</a> in northern Thailand). There are two subgroups: the <a href="/facts/Mal_people/Y6YCHpwz">Mal</a> and the <a href="/facts/Phai_people/g59Kmj1V">Phai</a> or Pray.

The Lua speak <a href="/facts/Mal_language/7EWVKsXU">Mal</a> and <a href="/facts/Phai_language/PIlUdNMd">Phai</a>, closely related, but not mutually intelligible languages, belonging to the <a href="/facts/Khmuic/AVR94wtf">Khmuic</a> branch of the <a href="/facts/Austroasiatic_languages/htRcwIvn">Austroasiatic languages</a>. Their home region is in the provinces of <a href="/facts/Sainyabuli_Province/amK1KHjU">Sainyabuli</a> (Hongsa and Phiang districts) and <a href="/facts/Bokeo_Province/9kbTJPN8">Bokeo</a> (<a href="/facts/Pak_Tha_District/fTh3X8s3">Pak Tha District</a>). In Thailand, most Lua settle in <a href="/facts/Nan_province/HqGHoY0P">Nan province</a>, close to the border with Laos.

Lua people open-in-new

Lua people