The Tais living to the south of the Hou Li kingdom would not have been so thoroughly Sinicised but it is clear that they had acquired superior military technology because of the way in which they were able to spread throughout the region, defeating all the peoples that stood in their way and probably in smaller numbers than the people they were to displace. Hence it is possible to think of a Tai army at this period as coming close to the concept which is most familiar: a main force of infantry marching in different formations and with various types of orders to follow (as for example described in Quaritch Wales, 1952, pp.152-91) and armed with spears, swords and bows, mostly unarmoured, together with cavalry in a similar style as their Tibeto-Burman neighbours such as the Lolos fielded (i.e. quite small ponies, short spears, swords and some bows) and the elephants of the high and mighty, with a mahout and possibly one or two warriors to protect the more important leaders. Nobles would fight alone with their drivers only for company.
The Tai Ahom kingdom of Assam expanded and developed in culture over the next centuries and perhaps reached a zenith under the rule of King Rudra Singh (1696-1714). It was defeated by the British during the first Anglo-Burmese War and subsequently integrated into India. It is now difficult to distinguish Tai from Indian or Assamese although, as new research continues to show, the Tai culture lives on in various sometimes unexpected ways.
References
Dhida Saraya, Becoming Tai: The Historical Basis of the Thai Nation (Bangkok: Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University, 2000), second edition.
Pratashlata Burahgohain, "A Glimpse of Ahom Rituals," Tai Culture, Vol.IV, No.2 (December 1999), pp.125-36.
Sai Aung Tun, "The Tai Ethnic Migration and Settlement in Myanmar," in Yukio Hayashi and Guangyuan Yang, eds., Dynamics of Ethnic Cultures across National Boundaries in Southwestern China and Mainland Southeast Asia: Relations, Societies, and Languages (Ming Muang Printing House: Chiang Mai, 2000), pp.14-34.
Schliesinger, Joachim, Tai Groups of Thailand: Vol.1: Introduction and Overview (Bangkok: White Lotus Co. Ltd., 2001).
Wyatt, David K. Thailand: A Short History (Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books, 1984).
John Walsh, Mahidol University, October 2003
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