ພວນ, พวน | |
---|---|
Young Phuan women in traditional clothing.
(Though Phuan have been absorbed into main Lao culture, this is not traditional Phuan clothing) | |
Total population | |
306,000 (SIL) | |
Regions with significant populations | |
![]() | 200,000 |
![]() | 100,000 |
![]() | 5,000 |
Languages | |
Phuan, Thai, Lao, Isan, Lanna | |
Religion | |
Theravada Buddhism, Tai folk religion | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Tai people, Tai Lao, Tai Isan, Tai Thai |
The Phuan people (พวน), ພວນ Phouan, pronounced [pʰúan]), also known as Tai Phuan, Thai Puan (Lao: ໄຕພວນ, ໄທພວນ; Thai: ไทพวน) or Lao Phuan (Lao: ລາວພວນ), are a Theravada Buddhist Tai people spread out in small pockets over most of Thailand's Isan region with other groups scattered throughout central Thailand and Laos (Xiangkhouang Province and parts of Houaphan). There are also approximately 5000 Phuan in the Mongkol Borei District of Banteay Meanchey Province in Cambodia,[1] as well in Battambang Province. According to the Ethnologue Report, the Phuan number 204,704 and that is split fairly evenly between populations in Laos and Thailand.