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Additional Information:

Approximately 9,000 Tai He live in Borikhamxai Province in central Laos. They are concentrated in the Viangthong and Khamkeut districts, while smaller numbers of Tai He inhabit the Pakkading and Pakxan districts.

Despite the fact the Tai He view themselves as a distinct people group, they have never appeared before in most mission or ethno-linguistic lists from Laos. Laurent Chazee, the French ethnographer, did list them as one of his 119 ethnic groups in Laos.

The Tai He practice a mixture of Buddhism and animism. Since 1975, the Communist authorities have slowly attempted to control Buddhist monks and exert authority over radical elements. Some Buddhist spokesmen have been favored because of their support for the government.

In 1975, outspoken Buddhist monk Maha Khamtan Thepbouali said, "We hold that the country and Buddhism cannot be separated.. Therefore, since Lao society is changing favorably, it is certain that Buddhist monks and novices will undergo changes.. We will try our utmost to stamp out the vestiges of the old society and build a new, pure and bright one. In the religious sphere it is necessary to correct many mistakes such as Buddhist textbooks which do not conform with the principles of Buddhism-textbooks compiled by capitalism and feudalism to hoodwink the people."

Later, Thepbouali wrote, "I wish to clarify to all whether Buddhism and revolution are in contradiction to one another? There are some people who have always said that it is not right for the Sangha to engage in revolutionary activities because the Sangha does not engage in politics. These people have not read their history of Buddhism! And also they do not understand what the Sangha is, or for that matter, revolution. The truth is that the Sangha and revolution are not in contradiction, even though they do not separate basic assumptions.. Revolution does not only mean the use of weapons. Struggle over ways of thinking is also revolution, struggle inside oneself over the right way of thinking and the wrong way is also a revolution."

There are no churches or known Christians among the unreached Tai He.

Prayer Requests:
* Pray against the twin strongholds of Buddhism and spirit worship that keep the Tai He blinded to the Truth.
* Ask God to open the hearts of the Tai He to the Gospel.
* Pray the Tai He would soon receive an opportunity to meet Jesus Christ and decide if they will follow Him.

Additional Information:

More than 7,000 Tai Kaleun people live in central Laos. The majority are located in the Khamkeut District of Borikhamxai Province, where they comprise a considerable proportion of the overall population of the district (47,805 in the 1995 census). The average size household in Khamkeut District is 6.4 people.

A small, geographically separated number of Tai Kaleun have moved to the Nakay District of Khammouan Province. In addition, Tai Kaleun are reportedly located in Thailand, although it is very difficult there to distinguish them from the Isan. Why or when the Tai Kaleun migrated to Thailand is uncertain.

The Tai Kaleun were not counted separately in the 1995 Lao census. They were probably either counted as part of the Lao or Phutai ethnic groups.

Even though the Tai Kaleun view themselves as a distinct ethnicity, their language is considered only a dialect of Lao and not a separate variety. In Thailand, the Tai Kaleun have been listed merely as a dialect group of Thai Isan.

The Tai Kaleun practice a mixture of Theravada Buddhism and animism. In Laos, there are major differences between the two Buddhist sects.

Maha Canla, a Buddhist monk from the Lao Thammayut sect, wrote. "In Laos the division was very wide. It was if neither sect recognized the other as made up of Lao people. They were completely distinct from each other, and were always trying to get the better of each other.. The entire Lao population was divided on the same basis, so that a young man who was an adherent of the Mahanikai could on no account marry a young woman who was an adherent of Thammayut, because their parents would not allow it. The trouble was the political left was aware of this weak point and they managed, by inciting the two sides and spreading evil rumors, to make the gap wider and wider."

Over the course of many centuries, while the two Buddhist sects in Laos struggled for supremacy, the Tai Kaleun have waited to hear the Gospel for the first time. Today, they are still waiting. There are no churches of known believers among them.

Prayer Requests:
* Pray the Tai Kaleun would soon receive a powerful and culturally-relevant presentation of the Gospel.
* Ask God to thrust forth laborers into His harvest field of Borikhamxai.
* Pray Lao Christians would be motiv-ated to take the Gospel to the linguistically similar Tai Kaleun people.

Additional Information:

The White Tai are an influential people who inhabit the narrow upland valleys of northeastern Laos. The White Tai, together with their neighbors, the Black Tai, were named for the color of their women's clothing.

Centuries ago, the White Tai lived in China. Relentless pressure by the Chinese gradually forced them southward. Eventually they settled along the Red and Black Rivers, where they found themselves in the landlocked country of Laos and completely dependent on others to survive. Laos endured years of invasions, a series of land wars, and then a French colonial possession. Now an independent country, Laos has good relations with all of its neighbors, including countries such as Russia and the United States. However, the lack of an outlet to the sea means it is still dependent on outsiders.

The White Tai speak a tonal language, Tai Kao. They are members of a larger cultural linguistic group of Tai peoples that includes the Laotians, the Shan, and others.

What Are Their Lives Like?
The White Tai are extremely polite, respectful, and hospitable. Their children are brought up to respect those of a higher rank and to become self-reliant individuals. Age is highly respected in White Tai society. Type of occupation, wealth, and place and type of residence follow age in terms of respect and rank. Rural farmers rank below craftsmen, merchants, and city government officials; and clergy are a separate group.

Families are the core of White Tai society. In rural areas, the entire immediate family lives together with mutual respect for each other. A young married couple may live with the wife's family until they can establish their own home. The father is considered the head of the family, and White Tai husbands and wives appear to have a harmonious relationship. In fact, the White Tai are distinguished by an almost equal division of labor by sex. Both men and women plow, fish, cook, tend to the babies, clean house, and wash clothes.

The White Tai live in small, self-governing villages that are usually limited to a single valley. Each village is under the control of the chao muong, or prince, to whom the commoners pay taxes. Although the White Tai are Laotian citizens, they have very little say so in the government.

Most of the White Tai live on small valley farms, where they grow wet rice using irrigation and terraces. Some also use the "slash and burn" method of agriculture. Opium is often grown as a cash crop. The construction of new roads has helped increase accessibility to the rural areas. Chinese shops have opened in several market towns and Chinese merchants often visit the villages.

What are their beliefs?
Over half of the White Tai combine folk animism (belief that non-living objects have spirits) with Buddhism. They worship various spirits and objects, and also believe that people have "multiple personal souls." They hold ceremonies for "recalling" the souls because they believe that this will strengthen the individual personality. The White Tai believe in spirits of the dead, the natural world, the political world, various localities, etc.

Thirty-eight percent of White Tai are Buddhists. They are followers of Buddha ("the enlightened one") and seek to eliminate suffering and improve their future by gaining merit in pursuit of perfect peace, or nirvana. They believe that merit can be acquired through feeding monks, donating to temples, and attending worship services. Traditionally, young men enter village monasteries for about three months to study Buddhism.

What are their needs?
Unfortunately, only 2% of White Tai profess to be Christians. Neither the Jesus film nor Christian radio broadcasts are available in Tai Kao at this time, nor are scriptures available.

The White Tai have been deeply scarred by all of the fighting and bloodshed in the past. They desperately need healing and new spiritual hope.

Prayer Points
Ask the Lord of the harvest to send forth additional laborers into Laos to minister to the needs of the White Tai.
Pray that God will raise up prayer teams to break up the soil through worship and intercession.
Ask God to grant wisdom and favor to any missions agencies targeting the White Tai.
Ask God to strengthen, encourage, and protect the small number of White Tai Christians.
Pray that God will raise up qualified linguists to complete translation of the Bible into Tai Kao.
Ask the Holy Spirit to soften the hearts of the White Tai towards Christians so that they will be receptive to the Gospel.
Take authority over the principalities and powers that are keeping the White Tai bound.
Ask the Lord to bring forth a triumphant White Tai church for the glory of His name!

Additional Information:

Approximately 8,000 members of the Tai Men ethnic group live within Borikhamxai Province in central Laos. They are mostly concentrated in Khamkeut District, with several villages in Viangthong and Pakkading districts. A few have migrated into the Pakxan District in recent decades.

The Tai Men share many similarities to their Lao and tribal Tai neighbors, but their largest distinguishing factor is their language, which is a Northern Tai variety. The Tai Men speak their mother tongue in their homes, but speak Lao with outsiders.

Not only do the Tai Men consider themselves a distinct people group, they also retain many customs that show they originated in a place far removed from their present location.

In Laos, there is always a set of rules and regulations that must be adhered to when a marriage is being arranged. People believe that to upset the protocol could bring bad luck to the young man and girl.

One observer noted, "Usually, a maiden is free to marry the man of her choice. As there are no colleges to be first graduated from, no fortunes to be first won, this she does early in life.... There is no attention paid in public...as this would be highly immodest and unbecoming. But when the couple have decided that they love one another...the consent of the parents of guardians is sought, usually by a go-between. If it is granted, an early day is set for the marriage, at which time the groom pays to the family of his bride the accustomed spirit-fines, signs a marriage contract, drawn up by the heads of the two families, comes to the house of his bride, where together they receive her parents' blessing and become man and wife. By marriage the groom has left his father's house in the full sense of the word. If he has sisters he cannot inherit a single fruit grove nor rice field. He becomes a son to his parents-in-law, and his earnings for several years go toward the general family support. He also changes his former liege lord and becomes a serf to the lord of the family of his wife."

An informant from Borikhamxai believes there are a small number (about 50) of Tai Men Christians in Laos. These are the first-fruits of what will hopefully be a much larger harvest of Tai Men believers.

Prayer Requests:
* Pray God would call the Tai Men believers to live strong, faithful and busy lives among their lost relatives.
* Ask God to spread the Tai Men church among all of their group.
* In prayer, plead with God for the souls of the Tai Men. Pray He would have mercy on them.

Additional Information:

Approximately 10,000 Tai Yuan, or Northern Tai speakers, live in several different locations in Laos. An accurate estimate on the number of Tai Yuan in Laos is difficult to gauge. The most recent estimate was made by P. B. Lafont in 1962, who stated there were between 3,000 to 5,000 Tai Yuan in Laos. The 1995 book by Laurent Chazee states the Tai Yuan live in the Houayxay and Pha-Oudom districts of Bokeo Province, near the Thai border; the Luang Namtha District of Luang Namtha Province; the Xai District of Oudomxai Province; and the Xaignabouri District of Xaignabouri Province.

More than six million Northern Tai speakers live in Thailand. The traditional center of Northern Tai culture is the city of Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai was formerly the capital of the Lanna ('Million Rice-fields) Kingdom, which at the height of its power extended across north-central Thailand to include Luang Prabang and Vientiane. Lanna was finally overcome by the Siamese and politically incorporated into today's Thailand in 1895. There were many years of hostility between the kings of Lanna and Siam before the former was finally subdued. In the 1770's, Chau Prasat Tawng, the King of Siam, "laid the country waste, plundered their villages, and brought away many thousand captives to be slaves forever more. The King of Laos...was betrayed into the hands of the Siamese, arriving in Bangkok about the close of the year 1828. He here underwent cruelties of which it is a shame even to speak...He was confined in a large iron cage, exposed to the burning sun, and obliged to proclaim to everyone that the King of Siam was great and merciful, that he himself had committed a great error and deserved his present punishment. In this cage were placed with the prisoner a large mortar to pound him with, a larger boiler to boil him in, a hook to hang by, and a sword to decapitate him; also a sharp-pointed spike for him to sit on. His children were sometimes put in along with him."

The Tai Yuan traditionally have their own script, in which the Bible was translated in 1927. Few people today, however, can read it. The Jesus film was recently completed in Tai Yuan, giving hope that the unevangelized Tai Yuan in Laos may soon hear the Gospel.

Prayer Requests:
* Pray the Tai Yuan Jesus film would be used to evangelize many people inside Laos.
* Pray the things keeping the Tai Yuan from salvation would be cast down.
* Ask God to send Tai Yuan Christians from Thailand to reach their cousins in Laos.

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Tai Nua
People Group: Tai Nua Location: Northern Laos Population: 47,000 Religion: Buddhism % Christian: 0.00% % Evangelical: 0.00% Ministry Resources: Some Bible Portions
Total People Group Population:	311,000	Other countries People Group Linked to:	Myanmar
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Additional Information: Identity Although the Tai Nua are part of the official Dai nationality in China, they speak their own distinct language. They should not be confused with the identically named but different Tai Nua of Laos. Language Linguists have pointed out that Tai Nua is "a name given to at least two quite different southwestern branch groups." The Tai Nua profiled here are members of the Southwestern branch of the Tai language family, while the Tai Mao language spoken throughout Dehong Prefecture is similar to the Shan language of Myanmar. The confusion of names is caused partly by "the Chinese tendency to group languages together into nationalities, exemplified by the Dai nationality, which includes all the Southwestern Tai languages of China." History The Tai Nua are historically part of the great Tai race of Asia, which dispersed during the past millennia to now inhabit parts of China, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, India, and, of course, Thailand. "Based on evidence from Neolithic finds unearthed by archeologists during recent decades it is now believed that before migrating southwards, the forefathers of the present day Thais lived in most parts of Guangxi and Sichuan, plus parts of Guizhou and Yunnan." Customs After a Tai Nua wedding ceremony the bridegroom goes to live with his bride's family. Traditionally he must take with him gifts of tea, rice, meat, bananas, four eggs, and two salted fish for his new in-laws. Upon arrival, the village elder takes the packets of tea and rice out to the road and calls on the spirits of heaven and earth to witness the marriage. He then ties a white thread seven times around the wrist of the bride and once around the wrist of the groom to indicate their unbreakable commitment to each other. Religion Although they are nominally Theravada Buddhists, the Tai Nua have many aspects of animism and polytheism mixed into their beliefs. The very first Tai god was Shalou, the god of Hunting. "Before a hunt, sacrifices were offered to Shalou to avert danger and to ensure success in the hunt." Christianity There are no known Christians among the Tai Nua and very little outreach is presently focused on bringing the gospel to them. Little improvement in their spiritual condition has taken place since the 1920s when one missionary lamented, "There is not a missionary working south of [Kunming] to Mohei, I am here alone and my little candle is the only light. Yet in these mountains are thousands of tribesmen who have never heard of the Gospel."   Return To Top ___________________________________________________________

Last Updated: 31 Jan 2010