Southern White Thai weaving village, Vietnam

(known in Vietnam as Thai, Tai, Tay and also found in Laos, Thailand and Southern China with small groups in Cambodia and India)

It is thought that the ancestors of the Thai arrived very early in Vietnamese history, especially the small groups which are the ancestors of those now settled in the north-western region.  At the beginning of the second century AD it is thought that initially the White Thai and then the Black Thai arrived to settle in their present area of habitation where they constitute the largest ethnic majority of the current population.  

These photos were taken in the Mai Chau District in Hoa Binh Province but near the border with the north-western part of Thanh Hoa Province.  The village is probably Ban Lac, a Southern White Thai village, which has become a centre for producing and selling handwoven textiles to foreigners and domestic tourists, shop owners in Hanoi and Saigon as well as textile dealers from Laos and Thailand.  Textiles are sold not only from the Mai Chau District but also from Thai and Muong communities in north-western Thanh Hoa Province.