 Kuy women in traditional attires | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| > 500,000 (est.) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Thailand, Cambodia, Laos | |
| Thailand | 400,000 (2006)[1] |
| Cambodia | 70,302 (2019)[2] |
| Laos | 42,800 (2005)[3] |
| Languages | |
| Kuy, Thai, Isan, Lao and others | |
| Religion | |
| Animism (or Satsana Phi), Theravada Buddhism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Katuic peoples | |
The Kuy (Khmer: កួយ, Thai: กูย) are an indigenous ethnic group of mainland Southeast Asia. The native lands of the Kuy range from the southern Khorat Plateau in northeast Thailand east to the banks of the Mekong River in southern Laos and south to north central Cambodia.[4] The Kuy are an ethnic minority in all three countries, where they live as "hill tribes" or Montagnards. Their language is classified as a Katuic language of the Mon-Khmer language family. The Thais, Lao, and Khmer traditionally recognize the Kuy as the aboriginal inhabitants of the region. [citation needed] The word kuy in the Kuy language means "people" or "human being"; alternate English spellings include Kui, Kuoy and Kuay, while forms similar to "Suay" or "Suei" are derived from the Thai/Lao exonyms meaning "those who pay tribute".[5] The Kuy are known as skilled mahouts, or elephant trainers, and many Kuy villages are employed in finding, taming, and selling elephants.[6]
- ^ 2006 Mahidol University Study, cited in Ethnologue
- ^ 2019 Indigenous Peoples Organization, cited in [1]
- ^ 2005 Lao Census, cited in Ethnologue
- ^ "The Kuy People of Laos". Southeast Asian Peoples Research Center. Archived from the original on June 11, 2017. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
- ^ Somsonge, Burusphat (1990). "The Functions of kʌʔ in Oral Kui Narrative" (PDF). Mon-Khmer Studies. 18–19: 223. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
- ^ Pongsak, Nakprada. "The "Elephants Return to Homeland" Project Management for Provincial Economic Development in Surin Province" (PDF). The Government of Thailand. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
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