Tai Man people belonging to the Man ethnic group live in north-east India, especially Assam State. Tai Man people lived in Assam State, dispersed in the Karbi Arleng District and North Cachar District. A small number may live in Tinsuria. An additional 585 Man people live in the state of Meghalaya, primarily in the West Garo Hills. They have small pockets of people in China and Thailand, but most are in Myanmar.
The name Man literally means 'a Burmese immigrant '. K S Singh says, 'Legend has it that they came to this part along with an invading army and were afterwards recruited as sepoys to fight the Garos in the second decade of the nineteenth century. Those who settled down in the Garo hills after relinquishing their duty as sepoys took women from other communities as their wives and formed a separate community. They married Koch, Hajong, Assamese and Bengali women, but they never encouraged marriage with the Muslims.'
Over time, because of their mixing with other communities, the Man emerged as a distinct people group, and all links to their origins in Myanmar have long been forgotten. Their Tai language has also been lost. They have 'completely forgotten their original language and have adopted Assamese as their mother tongue and use the Assamese script. They sometimes use Bengali and Hindi to communicate with others. The Man have been Assamised largely into the greater Assamese culture.’
Although most Tai Man people say they are Buddhists, Hinduism has influenced their religious belief system and is gradually taking over. 'The life cycle rituals they perform demonstrate much similarity with those of the neighboring caste Hindus of Assam and Meghalaya. The marriage, however, is solemnized by a Buddhist monk or pathak reciting hymns from the Pali scripture. '
Despite growing Hindu influence, approximately half of the Tai Man continue to profess Theravada Buddhism. There is also a large percentage of professing Christians among them.
There are Tai Man Christians today in India, a remnant that does not have the resources or motivation to reach the rest of their ethnic group.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to give the Tai Man people teachable and understanding hearts.
Pray that a strong movement of the Holy Spirit will bring entire Tai Man families into a rich experience of God’s blessing.
Pray for Tai Man families to be drawn by the Holy Spirit to seek forgiveness, and to understand the adequacy of Christ’s work on the cross.
Pray for teams of believers to do sustained, focused prayer for the Lord to open the hearts of Tai Man family leaders to experience God’s blessing through a movement of family-based discovery Bible studies.
Scripture Prayers for the Tai Man in India.
Peoples of the Buddhist World, Asia Harvest, Copyrighted © Used with permission
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