The Phunoi (Thai: ผู้น้อย; Lao: ຜູ້ນ້ອຍ; also spelled Phu Noi or Phounoi, and called Côông, Cống, or formerly Khong in Vietnam) are a tribal people of Laos, Northern Thailand, and Vietnam. They speak Phunoi, a Tibeto-Burman language that is classified as one of the Loloish languages. The community is divided into several clans, each with its own taboos and customs for ancestor worship. Their primary occupation is slash-and-burn agriculture, though they also produce a variety of handicrafts, most notably rattan baskets and mats.
There are approximately 35,600 Phunoi in Laos and 1,300 in Vietnam (the 1960 census indicated that there were approximately 6,500 at that time). In Laos, many Phunoi live in Phongsali Province (around the town of Phongsali, Louang Namtha Province, and Houaphanh Province. Some also live in Luang Phrabang Province and Vientiane Province, the remnant of those serving in the Royal Lao Armed Forces.
They are related to the Mpi people and the Bisu people.
"Phunoi" means "little man" in various Tai languages and is not this ethnic group's original name, which is probably "Khong."
References
-
^ "The 2009 Vietnam Population and Housing Census: Completed Results". General Statistics Office of Vietnam: Central Population and Housing Census Steering Committee. June 2010. p. 135. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
External links
-
Vietnam National Administration of Tourism
This article was sourced from Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. World Heritage Encyclopedia content is assembled from numerous content providers, Open Access Publishing, and in compliance with The Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act (FASTR), Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., Public Library of Science, The Encyclopedia of Life, Open Book Publishers (OBP), PubMed, U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, and USA.gov, which sources content from all federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial government publication portals (.gov, .mil, .edu). Funding for USA.gov and content contributors is made possible from the U.S. Congress, E-Government Act of 2002.
Crowd sourced content that is contributed to World Heritage Encyclopedia is peer reviewed and edited by our editorial staff to ensure quality scholarly research articles.
By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. World Heritage Encyclopedia™ is a registered trademark of the World Public Library Association, a non-profit organization.