Yala Province

[Braveheart]

Yala (Thai: ยะลา) is the southernmost province (changwat) of Thailand. Yala is the only land-locked province in the south of Thailand. The southern part borders Kedah and Perak of Malaysia.

 

In Malay Language, the province is also written as Jolor.

 

Yala Province is located on the Malay Peninsula.

 

Historically Pattani was the centre of the semi-independent Malay Patani kingdom, but paying tribute to the Thai kingdoms of Sukhothai and Ayutthaya. After Ayutthaya fell in 1767 Pattani gained full independence, but under King Rama I it again came under Siam's control. In 1909, it was annexed by Siam as part of Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909 negotiated with the British Empire. Along with Narathiwat, Yala was originally part of Pattani, but they were split off and became provinces of their own. There is a separatist movement in Yala, which after being dormant for many years erupted again in 2004.

 

Yala is one of the four provinces of Thailand where the majority of the population are Muslim, making up 68.9% of the population. Also 66.1% of the population are Malay.

 

The provincial seal shows a miner with simple mining tools including hoes, crowbars, and baskets. Yala was originally a mining town with tin and tungsten ores.

 

The provincial tree is the Red Saraca (Saraca declinata), and the provincial flower is the Bullet Wood (Mimusops elengi).

 

Yala is subdivided into 8 districts (Amphoe), which are further subdivided into 56 communes (tambon) and 341 villages (muban).

 

Extracted from Wikipedia: Yala Province