Han Tai in China

The Han Tai have only been reported in China
Population
Main Language
Lu
Largest Religion
Buddhism (Theravada)
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge

Introduction / History

Over many generations, the Tai people slowly began to separate and form distinctive traditions and languages. They "eventually evolved into two groups: the lowland farmers or Shui Tai and the mountain nomads, or Han Tai."

Although the Han Tai have never previously appeared in Christian research lists, they are a people group with their own customs, self-identity, and language. While Tai Lu (Shui Tai) women wear long, colorful sarongs, and put their hair up in a bun, "Han Tai women wear black, hand-woven sarongs with a bright blue fitted blouse and black turban."


What Are Their Lives Like?

In contrast to the dominant Tai Lu, whose homes are built on stilts, the Han Tai build their homes flat on the ground, often in a long row of houses containing several families. The Han Tai celebrate the annual Songkran Festival. People splash water over each other, believing it cleanses the sins of the past year. A Tai legend tells about a powerful fire breathing demon who was defeated by Yidanhan, a beautiful Tai maiden. "One night she made a special feast for the demon and got him drunk. ... He told her that if someone was able to pull a hair from his head and wrap it around his neck, his head would fall off and he would die. Yidanhan did this, but the demon's head rolled away and set everything on fire. The Tai splashed water on the demon's head to quench the fire, and to wash the blood from Yidanhan's clothes."


What Are Their Beliefs?

During the Cultural Revolution the Han Tai Buddhists suffered much persecution. Cadres even dug up the skeleton of a revered Buddhist abbot and used his bones as fertilizer, in a bizarre bid to provoke the people and destroy their religion. Pa Ya Shanmudi, the legendary Tai folk hero, laid down several commandments to ensure the survival of his people. One of these instructs each village to build a shrine, called a zaixin, as the symbolic heart of the community. "It serves as a ritual center. ... To destroy it or obstruct access to it would be the height of sacrilege."

A small number of Han Tai Christians who live in the Mengyuan area were won to Christ by an evangelist in recent years. In the 1960s many of the Tai church leaders in Xishuangbanna were killed by the fanatical Red Guards.


What Are Their Needs?

Without the guidance of Christ, these people will be lost in this life and the life to come. They need someone to go to them as Christ-bearers.


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 that the Han Tai 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 Han Tai in China.


References

Operation China, Asia Harvest, Copyrighted © Used with permission


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Han Tai
People Name in Country Han Tai
Pronunciation Hahn-Tie
Alternate Names Dai; Dry Land Dai; Dry-Land Dai; Han Dai; Mountain Dai
Population this Country 57,000
Population all Countries 57,000
Total Countries 1
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group No
Pioneer Workers Needed 1
PeopleID3 18487
ROP3 Code 114096
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 Approximately 60,000 Han Tai people inhabit the mountains of Mengyuan County in the Xishuangbanna Prefecture of Yunnan Province.   Source:  Peoples of the Buddhist World, 2004
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 Approximately 60,000 Han Tai people inhabit the mountains of Mengyuan County in the Xishuangbanna Prefecture of Yunnan Province..   Source:  Peoples of the Buddhist World, 2004
Primary Religion: Buddhism (Theravada)
Major Religion Percent
Buddhism
80.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 0.70 %)
0.70 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
0.00 %
Non-Religious
19.30 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
Primary Language Lu (57,000 speakers)
Language Code khb   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 1
Primary Language Lu (57,000 speakers)
Language Code khb   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 1
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 Scripture Earth Gospel resources links Scripture Earth
Photo Source Copyrighted © 2024  Operation China, Asia Harvest  All rights reserved.  Used with permission
Map Source Joshua Project / Global Mapping International  
Profile Source Joshua Project 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.


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