Tai Lue in China


Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge

Introduction / History

The Tai Lue are part of the official Dai nationality in China. Although the name "Tai" is said with a "t" sound, the Chinese pronounce it as "Dai."

The Tai Lue possess an ancient script, still used by Buddhists in the region. This profile refers to the Shui (Water) Dai in China who speak a different language from the Han Tai and Huayao Tai.

By the ninth century AD, the Tai Lue had a well-developed agricultural system. They used oxen and elephants to till the land and constructed extensive irrigation systems.


What Are Their Lives Like?

Each year the Tai Lue celebrate the Songkran Festival, when people splash water over each other, symbolizing the cleansing of sin from the previous year and a fresh start for the new year.


What Are Their Beliefs?

The Tai Lue are Theravada Buddhists. They believe that if they live good lives, they will be reborn into a higher social position, but if they are wicked, they will come back as degraded animals. At certain times the Tai Lue pay homage to the spirits of those who have contributed greatly to the well-being of their descendants. "Sacrifices are offered to the spirits [and] the village is shut in on itself; all roads and tracks giving access to the community are blocked with barricades of trees and branches the whole village is encircled with ropes made of straw or a line of white cotton thread, to represent symbolically an encircling wall preventing entry or exit. No outsiders of any description, not even monks or members of the elite ruling class, are permitted to attend these rites."

Not just physical barriers but also spiritual blockages exist among the Tai Lue. They have proven to be relatively resistant to the gospel. Presbyterian missionary Daniel McGilvary and his coworkers first ventured into Tai Lue territory in 1893 - riding elephants north from their base in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand - and shared the Gospel wherever they went. The first Tai Lue church was formed in the early 1920s. Persecution against the new believers forced them to construct their own village, Bannalee, which remains Christian. The Tai Lue New Testament was first translated in 1933 and reprinted in 1992 and 1996 for Tai Lue believers in China and Myanmar.


What Are Their Needs?

The Tai Lue people need to put their trust and identity in the hands of the loving God of Creation who sent his son to make it possible for them to enter the Kingdom of God.


Prayer Points

Pray for the spiritual blindness and bondage to the evil one to be removed so they can understand and respond to Christ.

Pray for the Lord to provide for their physical and spiritual needs as a testimony of his power and love.

Pray the Tai Lue people will have a spiritual hunger that will open their hearts to the King of kings.

Pray for an unstoppable movement to Christ among them.


Scripture Prayers for the Tai Lue in China.


References

Operation China, Asia Harvest, Copyrighted © Used with permission


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Tai Lue
People Name in Country Tai Lue
Pronunciation tie LOO
Alternate Names Dai Le; Dai Lu; Duon; Kon; Leu; Lự; Lu Ge Zi; Lu Ren; Lue; Lugepo; Nhuon; Pa Hng; Pai-I; Pai-yi; Shui Dai; Sipsongpanna Dai; Washing-Bone Miao; Xishuangbanna; Xishuangbanna Dai; Xishuangbnna Dai
Population this Country 804,000
Population all Countries 1,108,000
Total Countries 6
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group No
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 16
People ID 18566
ROP3 Code 114183
ROP25 Code 307851
ROP25 Name Tai Lu
Country China
Region Asia, Northeast
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 19  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country More than 600,000 Tai Lu live in Xishuangbanna Prefecture in the extreme southwestern corner of China. Researchers vary on the population of the Tai Lu, with estimates ranging from 250,000 to 770,000. Because Tai Lu varieties are spoken in a diverse area, population estimates are especially precarious. Xishuangbanna is a transliteration of the Tai name, Sip-Song-Pan-Na, which means "twelve thousand rice fields." The Tai Lu are also located throughout Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar. Massive deforestation and a rapid population growth have virtually destroyed the ecology of Xishuangbanna.   Source:  Operation China, 2000
Country China
Region Asia, Northeast
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 19  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country More than 600,000 Tai Lu live in Xishuangbanna Prefecture in the extreme southwestern corner of China. Researchers vary on the population of the Tai Lu, with estimates ranging from 250,000 to 770,000. Because Tai Lu varieties are spoken in a diverse area, population estimates are especially precarious. Xishuangbanna is a transliteration of the Tai name, Sip-Song-Pan-Na, which means "twelve thousand rice fields." The Tai Lu are also located throughout Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar. Massive deforestation and a rapid population growth have virtually destroyed the ecology of Xishuangbanna..   Source:  Operation China, 2000
Map of Tai Lue in China Ethnolinguistic map or other map

Primary Religion: Buddhism
Religion Subdivision: Theravada
Major Religion Percent
Buddhism
88.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 0.33 %)
0.50 %
Ethnic Religions
8.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
0.00 %
Non-Religious
3.50 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
Primary Language Lu
Language Code khb   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 2
Secondary Languages
Chinese, Mandarin
Primary Language Lu
Language Code khb   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 2
Secondary Languages
  Chinese, Mandarin
People Groups Speaking Lu

Primary Language:  Lu

Bible Translation Status  (Years)
Bible-Portions Yes  (1921-1932)
Bible-New Testament Yes  (1933)
Bible-Complete No
Possible Print Bibles
Amazon
World Bibles
Forum Bible Agencies
National Bible Societies
World Bible Finder
Virtual Storehouse
Resource Type Resource Name Source
Audio Recordings Audio Bible teaching Global Recordings Network
Film / Video God's Story video God's Story
Film / Video Jesus Film: view in Lu Jesus Film Project
Film / Video World Christian Videos World Christian Videos
General Bible for Children Bible for Children
General Gospel resources links Scripture Earth
Photo Source Nguyễn Thanh Quang - Wikimedia  Creative Commons 
Map Source People Group location: IMB. Map geography: ESRI / GMI. Map design: Joshua Project.  
Profile Source Joshua Project 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.



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