Abstract
Tai muong (muang) societies in the valleys of Northwestern Vietnam provided sources of information which allowed Southeast Asian scholars such as Georges Condominas to establish models of the traditional political system in Mainland Southeast Asia. However, the muong model in their work only reflects the situation of societies in the colonial and post-colonial era. This article focuses on the case of Mường Lò valley, which Black Tai people believe to be the first land reclaimed by their ancestors. It also re-examines how the muong structure was historically formed in the context of dynamic changes in the Sino-Southeast Asian macro-region since the 18th century, such as mass migration from China, booming inland trade and expanding lowland powers especially the Nguyễn dynasty. The examination of documents in Han Nom (including địa bạ triều Nguyễn, land registers of the Nguyễn dynasty) and in old Tai shows that Mường Lò valley originally had dual centers and the structure with a center-periphery hierarchy which Condominas called systèmes à emboîtement did not emerge until the early 19th century. It is arguable that adoption to the changes led to political cohesion in Mường Lò valley.
