Introduction
Kuy people are part of the Austro-Asiatic people who are the natives in most parts of mainland South East Asia.They are mistakenly thought of as 'Khmer' people by the Thai and Khmer people but they are not part of Khmer. This article explores their origin and their related subgroups.
Original homeland
The Kuy live in eastern Thailand, southern Laos and northern Cambodia. The majority of Kuy live in Thailand (around 200,000) followed by southern Laos (around 50,000). The figures are from 1995 census. |
| Migration path |
The original homeland of the Kuy is in the region of Saravan province in southern Laos. Towards the end of Ayutthaya kingdom (1350-1767 AD) in the 18th century, the Kuy migrated south to Cambodia and Thailand which were traditionally Khmer territories.
The Surin province in Thailand was named after a Kuy leader named Pum who captured and trained a royal elephant for King Rama I, the king of Siam, in the late 18th century AD.
The Kuy people are well known as skilled wild elephant catchers and elephant trainers in Thailand and Cambodia. They played an important role in training elephants for the Siamese army during ancient times. Rare white elephants are highly prized as symbol of kingship.
Nowadays, the Kuy breed elephants and sell them to elephant sanctuaries for tourists' entertainment.
The video below narrates the origin of Kuy people in Thailand starting at 15:40 minutes into the video. Note that the Kuy actually came from Saravan province in Laos and not Attapeu province as stated in the video.
There are three branches of the Katuic people which are:
The detailed origin of the Muongic people can be found on another article in this blog.
The most famous ethnic Kuy in Thailand is Tony Jaa, the famous martial artist and movie star. However, Tony Jaa is mistaken by most people as ethnic Tai.
http://eastasiaorigin.blogspot.com/2018/11/ethnic-origin-of-muong.html
Origin of Austro-Asiatic tribes (overview)
http://eastasiaorigin.blogspot.com/2020/08/origin-of-austroasiatic-tribes.html
Copyright © eastasiaorigin.blogspot 2017-2020. All rights reserved.
Kuy in Thailand
The Kuy living in Surin, Buriram, Sisaket provinces in eastern Thailand are called Suay; these provinces were traditionally part of Cambodia but was annexed by Thailand in 18th century AD.The Surin province in Thailand was named after a Kuy leader named Pum who captured and trained a royal elephant for King Rama I, the king of Siam, in the late 18th century AD.
The Kuy people are well known as skilled wild elephant catchers and elephant trainers in Thailand and Cambodia. They played an important role in training elephants for the Siamese army during ancient times. Rare white elephants are highly prized as symbol of kingship.
The video below narrates the origin of Kuy people in Thailand starting at 15:40 minutes into the video. Note that the Kuy actually came from Saravan province in Laos and not Attapeu province as stated in the video.
Katuic subgroup
The Kuy is a subgroup of the Katuic aka Co-Tu people who are the natives of Savannakhet, Saravan and Sekong provinces in Laos.There are three branches of the Katuic people which are:
- West (blue): Kuy (Kuay), Suay, Nanhang, Bru, So
- Central (dark red): Ta-Oi (Ta-uot), Ong, Katang, Kriang/Ngeq, Chatong, Pacoh
- East (orange): Katu, Phuong, Kantu, Dakkang, Triw
Refer to map below for the distribution.
Closest ethnic relative
The closest ethnic relatives are the Muongic people in central Laos and central Vietnam. The Khmer people are also ethnic relatives to the Katuic people but they are not as close as the Muongic people. All three groups are from different branches of the Austro-Asiatic people.The detailed origin of the Muongic people can be found on another article in this blog.
 |
| Ethnic Muong |
Conclusion
The Kuy and their Katuic relatives are the natives of southern Laos before the ethnic Lao came into the region. They are Buddhists and traditionally known as skilled elephant trainers.
The most famous ethnic Kuy in Thailand is Tony Jaa, the famous martial artist and movie star. However, Tony Jaa is mistaken by most people as ethnic Tai.
 |
| Tony Jaa and elephants |
Related links
Ethnic origin of Muonghttp://eastasiaorigin.blogspot.com/2018/11/ethnic-origin-of-muong.html
Origin of Austro-Asiatic tribes (overview)
http://eastasiaorigin.blogspot.com/2020/08/origin-of-austroasiatic-tribes.html
Sources
- Classifying the Austroasiatic languages: History and state of the art. By Paul Sidwell. Year 2009.
Copyright © eastasiaorigin.blogspot 2017-2020. All rights reserved.
Nice work! I'm always curious what the Kuy original language sound like since the Kuy today around SEA are either speaking Thai, Khmer or Lao.
ReplyDeletePlease watch Youtube channel 'Prim Houn TV' for how it sounds like.
DeleteYou didn't talk about these people in central Cambodia between Kampong Thom and Siem Reap provice
ReplyDeleteDo you mean Bunung, Tampuan, Brao people? They are all Bahnaric people.
DeleteSorry, we don't have a separate detailed article for those people. However, there is an overview for Bahnaric people on Youtube (Eastasia Origin) channel. The video is called 'Origin of Eastern Austroasiatic'