Introduction / History

The Phula live in Vietnam and in China. They speak a Tibeto Burmese language, but in China they often speak Mandarin.

What Are Their Lives Like?

In Vietnam the Phula hunt and weave cloth. They also do basket work. They eat rice in their main meals, usually twice a day.
Some of them live in stilt houses and some in houses on the ground. Neighbors help each other when it is time for the harvest.
The Phula are allowed to have pre-marital relations. They have engagement and wedding ceremonies and marriage customs. Women give birth while seated and sleep on a straw mat. The Phula have name giving ceremonies and rituals for funerals. They have their own festivals.

What Are Their Beliefs?

The Phula pray to male ancestors for good health and to female ancestors for abundant crop yields. Those people who specialize in rituals play an important part in their lives.
The Phula like folk literature and dancing. They like to play the trumpet and the drums. This may be an opportunity for them to be befriended by musically minded Christians.

What Are Their Needs?

The Phula people need to seek and find the only one who can give them life to the full.

Prayer Points

Pray that the Phula will come to Jesus Christ.
Pray that Vietnamese and Chinese Christians will give the Phula the gospel message leading them to salvation in both countries.

Scripture Prayers for the Phowa, Labo in China.