 | This article may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards. (September 2019) |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 7000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Assam, Arunachal Pradesh | |
| Languages | |
| Khamyang, Assamese | |
| Religion | |
| Theravada Buddhism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Khamyang people | |
|---|---|
| Thai name | |
| Thai | ไทคำยัง |
The Khamyang (Tai-Khamyangs or Shyam), is a subgroup of the Tai peoples of Southeast Asia.[1] They are numerically a small indigenous group found in Tinsukia, Jorhat, Sivasagar and Golaghat districts of Assam, and adjacent parts of Arunachal Pradesh. Their population totals about 7,000, of which only a small minority speak the native Tai Khamyang language while the vast majority speak the Assamese language. The Khamyang are followers of Theravada Buddhism and are closely related to the Khamti. They maintain good relations with other Tai Buddhist tribes of Assam.
They ruled an independent principality in Mungkong until the end of the 18th century. Many Khamyang have historically used "Shyam", which is a cognate with "Siam", the old word for Thailand, as a surname. The modern trend is for mostly their family names: Thaomung, Chowlu, Chowlik, Tungkhang, Wailong, Pangyok, Chowsong, Pangyok and Chowhai.
- ^ Sonowal, Ripunjoy; Barua, Indira (2011-04-01). "Ethnomedical Practices among the Tai-Khamyangs of Assam, India". Studies on Ethno-Medicine. 5 (1): 41–50. doi:10.1080/09735070.2011.11886390. ISSN 0973-5070. S2CID 80422538.