The people at Baan Soke Maew , Tambol Oom Mao , Amphoe That Phanom are recently discovered their ethnic identity as Thai Ka , the only Thai Ka community that remain in Nakhon Phanom . The Thai Ka and the others well-known ethnic groups such as the Phu Thai , the Nyaw , the Saek , the So , the Ka Lerng and Thai Isaan or Thai - Lao are all Lao descendant , they came from the middle part of Lao over a hundred year ago. The Thai Ka people sometime prefer to call themselves as " Bru " rather than " Ka " , Bru belongs to the Katuic branch of the Mon-Khmer language family, and are descendants of the great Khmer Empire which flourished between the nineth and the thirteenth centuries and encompassed present-day Thailand , Lao , Cambodia and south of Vietnam. The word " Bru " literally means " mountain. " This name was probably given to the Bru in reference to their geographical location.
The Thai Ka ( Bru ) originally are ethnic religionists , but today practicing their own traditional religion and mixed with Buddhism. The Thai Ka share the same traditional " Yao Ritual Dance " as the Saek , the Nyaw and the So ethnic groups. " Yao " or Ancestor worship ( praying to deceased ancestors for prosperity , guidance , and protection ) is the most important activity.
