This has no reference to color but to the closeness of their original home to the Black River in Vietnam. After years of invasions, a series of land wars, and possession by the French, Laos has finally entered into good relations with its neighbors and with distant countries, such as Russia and the United States. Independence from France was gained after World War II, but Laos remains dependent on other nations due to their lack of access to the sea. The Muei Tai are an unusually polite, respectful, and hospitable people. Children are taught from a young age to accept a code of social behavior based on respect for those who rank higher in society.
Additional emphasis is placed on being independent and self-reliant.
Reluctantly, some of the Muei Tai are venturing into terrace farming and irrigation for rice production. They are feared by many surrounding non-Tai tribes who find them warlike and who disapprove of their tendency to destroy the forests. There is almost no division of labor by sex. Both men and women as well as men plow, till, fish, cook, tend to the children, clean house, and wash clothes. The village, rather than the extended family, is the most important social unit among the Muei Tai.