Located in Suphan Buri province’s Bang Pla-Ma district, the village of Ban Bhodhi-Sri is a charming little community.

Seeing groups of elders dressed in their traditional clothing, along with clusters of traditional wooden homes, it’s easy to imagine the area during its distant past.

The community includes a significant number of Tai Puan, the descendents of migrant Lao Puan people who can be found scattered among 23 provinces after migrating to the kingdom in five waves from the Lao province of Chiang Khwang between 1778 and 1834.

Suan, a 72-year-old grandmother who preferred to provide only a single name, says the Lao Puan once lived along a plateau in the Lao province. The word puan is derived from the river of the same name that cuts through the area.

The Tai Puan have typically tended to reside close to rivers since the waterways provided the necessary support for agriculture-based livelihoods. Chantaburi, Lopburi, Nakhon Nayok, and Suphan Buri are just some of the numerous provinces where you’ll find communities.

Shelter from the storm
The Tai Puan began seeking shelter in Suphan Buri province during the Thonburi dynasty (1768-1782). One of King Taksin the Great’s more adventurous commanders led a huge number of troops on a successful assault on Vientiane and its surrounding areas.

Large groups of survivors of several different ethnicities, including Puan and Song, ended up in the kingdom of Siam as prisoners of war following the incursions into Laos.

Thunder coming from a southerly direction would signify a shortage of salt, whereas if it came from the north it was meant to mean drought. Thunder from a westerly direction was understood to mean that a battle was imminent, while rumbles from the east were thought to signify peace and prosperity for the region.

During the reign of Rama IV (1851-1868), King Mongkut insisted that the kingdom’s new residents learn the Thai language properly in order to promote harmony and to unify the nation’s minority groups.

Since those days, the Puan language, which is similar to Lao, has fallen into decline and is rarely found in popular use today. Nevertheless, you can see that many of examples of Puan culture are surviving and thriving.