Lowland Lao
The so-called
Lao Loum
(or lowland Lao) live at the lowest elevations and on the land best suited for cultivation. For the most part, they are the
ethnic Lao
, a people related to the Thai of Thailand and the Shan of Burma. The...
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Mon-Khmer groups
The ethnic Lao believe themselves to have originally inhabited an area that is present-day Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam. As they moved southwards they displaced the original inhabitants of the region, forcing them to resettle at higher elevations. The
...
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Highland groups
The
Lao Soung
(literally the "high Lao" live at the highest elevations, having migrated from China at the beginning of the nineteenth century. This group includes the Hmong, Mien, Lahu and Akha.
Of these the
Hmong
...
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