태국산악부족 몬족/MON족 자료(영문)

 

 

If you will travel in Kanchanaburi and Sangkalaburi in west - central Thailand, you will meet many Mon people, especially near the Burmese border. The city of Lampun in north Thailand, known to be the center of the ancient Mon kingdom of Haripunchai. The Mon (also sometimes called Talaing) people have for centuries lived in the area of present-day Thailand and Burma (Myanmar). They speak the Mon language, part of the widely distributed Mon-Khmer language group; racially they are similar to other Southeast Asians. Although no reliable population figures exist, Mon speakers are estimated to number about 1,130,000 in Burma and less than 200,000 in Thailand..

Inscriptions in the Mon language have been found dating from as early as the 6th century. The early Mon states were organized according to Indian political principles and were headed by god-kings. Mon kingdoms in Thailand disappeared as Thai influence expanded in the 13th century. Those in Lower Burma frequently were at war with Burmese states that were located farther north. Even after the last important Mon kingdom fell in the 16th century, Mon resistance continued; many refugees fled to Thailand, their descendants comprising the present Mon population there.

The Burmese adopted much from Mon culture, including their writing system. The Mon are said to have been the first Theravada Buddhists in Southeast Asia; their monastic discipline and ritual are highly respected even today.

Mon culture shares much with that of other lowland Southeast Asian peoples. Most Mon are rice cultivators, and nearly all are Theravada Buddhists.

Kinship is reckoned through both the mother's and father's line. Traditional Mon spirit beliefs included a cult of totemic spirits that were the object of rather elaborate taboos. An ancestral spirit was a central focus of the kalok dance, an all day ceremony overseen by a specialist in the supernatural.

Today distinctive Mon cultural practices in most areas in Thailand are much attenuated, and most people with Mon ancestry have lost the ability to speak Mon. In Burma more of Mon traditional culture has been maintained. A political movement seeking the formation of a new Mon state in Burma has been actively opposed by the Burmese government.

Provided by :: Tourism Authority of Thailand