The modern Nation of Thailand is a multicultural society. The predominant Thai culture, identity and civilisation emerged as a by product of the interaction of the indigenous population with Tai and other immigrant peoples [  including Chinese and Indian ]. When people call themselves ‘’Thai’’ they mean they are in the political sense, subjects of the Thailand nation. If explored further the word has a cultural and, for many, a linguistic sense. However not all Thailand citizens speak Thai and of those who do so it is a second language for them. This Thai identity in its present form is relatively recent.

The Tai tribes [ of  which we identify 30 groups ] are considered in the Central, North, South and I 'san links. The ethnic characteristics, belief systems, languages and lifestyles of each of all the tribes are compared also within these links. As between the Tai tribes the points of comparison are language and script, culture and art and architecture style. As between all the ethnic tribes the points of comparison are language groups, monogamous and polygamous cultures, animist and non animist beliefs, ancestor worship or not, indic script or Khmer based text, highland dwellers [dry rice farmers] or lowland farmers [  wet rice farmers ], heirarchical and non hierarchical societies, spirit beliefs and religion [ Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, Taoist, animist, etc ].