Tai Don in Vietnam


Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge

Introduction / History

Most of the White Tai (who are named for the color of their women's clothing) live in northern Vietnam along the banks of the Red and Black Rivers. A few have settled in the Tung Nghia region of southern Vietnam. The White Tai speak a tonal language, Tai Don. They are members of a larger cultural linguistic group of Tai peoples, which includes the Shan, the Laotians, and others.

Although the White Tai are part of the Thai official nationality in Vietnam, they are not native to the land. Originally from China, they emigrated south to Vietnam because of unceasing pressure by the Chinese. However, settling in Vietnam did not bring them peace. By 1895, the French ruled Vietnam in an Indo-Chinese Union. After World War II, France and Japan governed the country jointly until Japan disarmed the French. Communist rebels emerged and military regimes formed, leading to severe blood-shed until the Communist Republic of North Vietnam spread to the South in 1975.


What Are Their Lives Like?

The White Tai are extremely polite, respectful, and hospitable. Children are brought up to respect those of a higher rank, and to be independent and self-reliant. 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. Clergy are a separate group.

Families are the core of White Tai society. In rural villages, the entire immediate family often lives together. Although the father is considered the head of the family, White Tai husbands and wives appear to have peaceful relationships. In fact, the White Tai are distinguished by an almost equal division of labor by sex. Both men and women plow, till, fish, cook, care for the children, clean house, and wash clothes.

Wet-rice, the main agricultural crop, is grown for consumption as well as for cash sales. The White Tai are also excellent cloth weavers. Their spacious, artistically designed houses (which are built on stilts) have rectangular roofs, which distinguish them from the Black Tai's tortoise-shaped roofs.

Tai culture has changed dramatically as a result of the transition from a feudal to a socialist society. Farmers now belong to agricultural cooperatives, and small-scale industrialization has helped turn Tai agricultural peasants into a Vietnamese working class. New social structures have also brought improved education and health care. Some medical schools and some hospitals have been built. These have helped gain control over diseases such as small pox, cholera, tuberculosis, and malaria.


What Are Their Beliefs?

Over half of the White Tai combine folk animism 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.

Many of the 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?

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 to send additional laborers into Vietnam to work among the White Tai.
Pray that God will raise up prayer teams who will begin breaking up the spiritual soil of Vietnam through intercession.
Ask God to grant wisdom and favor to missions agencies focusing on the White Tai of Vietnam.
Ask God to strengthen, encourage, and protect the small number of White Tai Christians.
Ask the Lord to raise up strong local Christian fellowships among the White Tai.


Scripture Prayers for the Tai Don, White Tai in Vietnam.


Profile Source:   Bethany World Prayer Center  

People Name General Tai Don, White Tai
People Name in Country Tai Don, White Tai
Natural Name Tai Don
Pronunciation tie JAHN
Alternate Names Dai Kao; Dai, White; Red Tai; Tai Blanc; Tai D; Tai Don; Tai Kaw; Tai Khao; Tai Lai; Thái; Thai Trang; Tribal Tai; White Tai
Population this Country 342,000
Population all Countries 481,000
Total Countries 4
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group No
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 7
PeopleID3 18689
ROP3 Code 109710
Country Vietnam
Region Asia, Southeast
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
Persecution Rank 35  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country North, mainly along Red and Black rivers, Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Lao Cai, and Son La provinces; some in the south, Lam Dòng province, Tung Nghia.   Source:  Ethnologue 2016
Country Vietnam
Region Asia, Southeast
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
Persecution Rank 35  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country North, mainly along Red and Black rivers, Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Lao Cai, and Son La provinces; some in the south, Lam Dòng province, Tung Nghia..   Source:  Ethnologue 2016
Map of Tai Don, White Tai in Vietnam Ethnolinguistic map or other map

Primary Religion: Ethnic Religions
Major Religion Percent
Buddhism
35.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 0.25 %)
1.00 %
Ethnic Religions
58.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
0.00 %
Non-Religious
6.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
Primary Language Tai Don (342,000 speakers)
Language Code twh   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 1
Primary Language Tai Don (342,000 speakers)
Language Code twh   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 1
People Groups Speaking Tai Don

Primary Language:  Tai Don

Bible Translation Status  (Years)
Bible-Portions Yes  (1967-1992)
Bible-New Testament No
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 Jesus Film: view in Tai Don Jesus Film Project
Photo Source (Representative photo)
John Shedrick - Flickr  Creative Commons 
Map Source People Group location: IMB. Map geography: ESRI / GMI. Map design: Joshua Project.  
Profile Source Bethany World Prayer Center 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.


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