Thai Malays
 Ethnic Malay boys in Songkhla.
|
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 1.9 million (2006, est.) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Thailand (mostly in Southern Thailand) Malaysia (Kelantan, Kedah, and Perlis) |
|
| Languages | |
| Thai, Pattani Malay, Satun Malay, Bangkok Malay | |
| Religion | |
|
Sunni Islam Minority: Shia Islam (in Satun) |
|
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Malaysian Malay (especially Kedahan Malays and Malays in Kelantan and Terengganu), Burmese Malays, other Malays |
Thai Malays (Malay: Orang Melayu Thai, Thai: ไทยเชื้อสายมลายู, Jawi: ملايو تاي, Pattani Malay: Oré Nayu, Jawi or Bangso Yawi) is a term used to refer to ethnic Malays in Thailand. Thailand hosts the third largest ethnic Malay population after Malaysia and Indonesia, and most Malays are concentrated in the Southern provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala, Songkhla, and Satun. Phuket and Ranong, home to a sizeable Muslim population, also has many people who are of Malay descent. A sizeable community also exists in Thailand's capital Bangkok, having descended from migrants or deportees who were relocated from the South from the 13th century onwards.
Ethnic Malays in Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala, and Songkhla are due in part to cultural differences from the Thai people as well as past experiences of forced attempts to assimilate them into Thai mainstream culture after the annexation of the Pattani Kingdom by the Sukhothai Kingdom. On the other hand, ethnic Malays in Satun, Phuket, Ranong and Bangkok are less inclined towards separatism.
The Sam Sams (ซัมซัม) who make up the bulk of Satun's population (but also a significant minority in PhatthalungTrang, Krabi, Phang Nga and Songkhla as well as in the Malaysian states of Kedah, Perak and Perlis) are a distinct ethnic group who generally adhere to Islam, but are culturally Thai (although with some Malay influences) and speak a Southern Thai dialect interspersed with some Malay loanwords.
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Wikipedia