Mountain people in the Muang: Creation and governance of a Tai polity in northern Laos

This paper traces the history of Luang Namtha, an intermontane valley basin in northern Laos, based on the narratives of non-Tai ethnic groups that collectively constitute a majority in the region. The narratives demonstrate the possibility of alternative histories of muang polities, which are a core part of our understanding of Tai social and political organization. These narratives describe a central role for mountain people in the muang, including the formation, population, and develop-ment of what appears to be a Tai polity. This analysis suggests the need to open up our understanding of “traditional ” Tai political spaces to accommodate an expanded historical agency for upland groups conventionally circumscribed within their own upland setting. This paper argues that the first step towards a more nuanced under-standing of muang is recognizing them as cosmopolitan areas in which many sources of power, innovation, and transformation intersect