All of these groups speak Tai languages. Most Tai are Buddhists of the Theravada school. Among the different groups, however, there is much variation in this type of Buddhism.
Most young men spend a period as monks.
These animistic beliefs tend to be strongest among those peoples farthest from the traditional centers of Tai Buddhism. The major economic pursuit is the cultivation of rice, dry rice in the highlands and wet in the valleys. The status of women is high. None of the Tai peoples has a caste system. Communal leadership is provided by an elected village headman, together with the Buddhist monks and elders.