Therefore[dubious – discuss] the word Dai, like with the aforementioned Yao, is a Han Chinese cultural concept which has now been adopted by other languages such as English, French, and German (see respective Wikipedias).

As a solution in the Thai language, however, as in English, the term Tai Lue can be used to mean Dai, despite referring to other groups as in the table below.

The Dai people follow their traditional religion as well as Theravada Buddhism and maintain similar customs and festivals (such as Songkran) to the other Tai-speaking peoples and more broadly, in regards to some cultural aspects, to the unrelated dominant ethnic groups of Myanmar, Cambodia and Sri Lanka.

The term Tai in China is also used sometimes to show that the majority of people subsumed under the "Dai" nationality are mainly speakers of Thai languages (i.e.

Thailand Peoples classified as Dai in China speak the following Southwestern Tai languages.

In 109 BCE, the Han dynasty established the Yizhou prefecture in the southwest of Yi (modern day parts of Yunnan, Sichuan, and Guizhou).

In the twelfth century, the Dai (called Dai-Lue or Tai-Lue at this period) established the Jinghong Golden Hall Kingdom in Sipsong Panna (modern Xishuangbanna).

However, some Dai communities had their own aspects of class, political structures, and land ownership that differed considerably from other groups.

The last king, Chao Hmoam Gham Le (Dao Shixun in Chinese) became the deputy head of Xishuangbanna prefecture.

If transcribed according to their Tai Lue pronunciations they would be as follows: Hung, Ha, Sae, Lu, Ong, Long, Hun, Pan, Cheng Choeng, Hai, Cheng Lo, Mang, La, Bang, Hing, Pang, La, Wang, Pong, Yon, Bang and Cheng Tong) Some portions of these Tai Lue either voluntarily moved or were forcibly herded from these city-states around one to two hundred years ago, arriving in countries of present-day Burma, Laos and Thailand.

It is made by putting glutinous rice in a fragrant bamboo tube, soaking with water for 15 minutes, and baking with fire.

Dai people believe that eating sour foods can make their eyes bright, help digestion, and also help relieve heat.

In the early morning of the festival, the people of the Dai village went to the Buddhist temple to clean the figure of Buddha.

Afterwards, most boys or young men would return to secular society while a handful of them remained in the monasteries to become fully ordained monks.

Hui (Chinese Muslim) merchants from Dali and other parts of Yunnan settled in Xishuangbanna in the early nineteenth century.

These settlers assimilated and intermarried with the locals which eventually led to the creation of a unique Dai and Sino-Islamic culture.

[4] As an effect of living in a subtropical region, subsistence for many Dai include the use and growing of rice, coffee, rubber, tea, sugar, and many types of fruits.

The Dai also have a highly developed handicraft industry which includes weaving, oil-pressing, winemaking, and bamboo work.

The increase of infrastructure and living standards in the region has led the Dai to assimilate into the mainstream Chinese economy better than other minorities.

[4] Historically, marriage was mainly between members of similar social or economic class and polygamy was common among chieftains.