Isan (also written as Isaan, Issan or Esarn; Thai/ Isan อีสาน) is the northeast region of Thailand. It is located on the Khorat Plateau, bordered by the Mekong River to the north and east, and by Cambodia to the south; to the west it is separated from Northern and Central Thailand by the Phetchabun mountain range. Agriculture is the main economic activity, but due to the poor conditions output trails that of other parts of the country, and this is Thailand's poorest region.
The main language of the region is Isan (which is similar to Lao), but Thai is also widespread and Khmer is spoken in the south. Most of the population is of Lao origin, but the region's incorporation into the modern Thai state has been largely successful.
Prominent aspects of Isan culture include mor lam music, muay ThaiMuay Thai ( Thai , IPA /muai tai/), also known as Thai boxing or Thai kickboxing, is a martial art originally from Thailand. Traditional muay Thai has a long history in Thailand as a martial art used by the military. The military style of muay Thai is cal boxing and the food, in which sticky riceSticky rice or glutinous rice is the main type of rice grown and consumed by the Lao of Laos and Northeast Thailand, areas which are considered to be the primary center of origin and domestication of Asian rice Oryza sativa L. It has been cultivated in th and chilliesSee also Capsicum Thailand The chilli pepper (also chili or chile from Nahuatl chilli is the fruit of the plant Capsicum a relative of the tomato in the nightshade family Solanaceae . Cultivated since prehistoric times in Peru and Mexico, it was discovere are prominent.
1 History
Main article: History of IsanThe history of Isan has been determined by its geography: situated between Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, it has been dominated by each in turn, although its relative infertility meant it was more often a battleground than a prize. Rather than being incorpo
Isan has a number of important bronze age sites, with cliff paintingThis article is part of the Art history series. Pre-historic art Arts of the ancient world European art history Islamic art history Arts of the Far East Contemporary art Pre-Historic Art of Europe Palaeolithic The earliest European art found so far is ofs, artifacts and early evidence of riceRice Rice fields on Java Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Poales Family: Poaceae Genus: Oryza Species Oryza barthii ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza latifolia ''Oryza longistaminata ''Oryza punctata ''O cultivation. The region later came under the influence first of the DvaravatiThe Dvaravati kingdom of the Mon people existed from the 6th to the 11th centuries. It was centred on the Chao Phraya River valley in modern-day Thailand. Little is known about the administration of the kingdom, or even whether it was a kingdom at all: it culture and then of the Khmer empire, which left temples at Phimai and Phanom Rung.
After the Khmer empire began to decline from the 13th century, Isan was dominated by the Lao Lan Xang kingdom. Thereafter the region was increasingly settled by Lao migrants. Siam held sway from the 17th century, and carried out forced population transfers from Laos to Isan in the 18th and 19th centuries. Franco-Siamese treaties of 1893 and 1904 made Isan the frontier between Siam and French Indochina.
In the 20th century a policy of " Thaification" promoted the incorporation of Isan as an integral part of Thailand and de-emphasised the Lao origins of the population.
This policy extended to the use of the name "Isan" itself: the name is derived from that of Isana, a manifestation of Shiva as deity of the north-east. The name therefore reinforces the area's identity as the north-east of Thailand, rather than as a part of the Lao world.
