Although the Tai Kao are part of the official Dai nationality in China, they possess their own spoken and written language and are fiercely proud of their distinct ethnic identity. Their name Tai Kao means "white Tai."
The majority of the Tai peoples in north China lived farther to the north prior to the thirteenth century, when invading Mongol armies pushed the Tai into southern China. Some groups—such as the Tai Kao, Tai Dam, and Red Tai—moved from Guangxi into Yunnan Province and farther south into Vietnam and Laos.
The Tai Kao live in compact communities along the Honghe River. Most are engaged in agriculture and fishing.
The animistic Tai Kao have never converted to Buddhism. They "have a number of statues and altars ... to the spirit of the soil, to the tiger god, and to Tan Sin and Kouan-Yin, local heroes now deified by the White Tai." Unlike most people in this region, the Tai Kao believe in a sovereign, supreme god who is active in their lives. "One of their legends states that their ancestors emerged from a pumpkin in which they had taken refuge during a divinely decreed flood that drowned all the other inhabitants of the earth because of their wickedness."
Despite the availability of weekly gospel radio broadcasts and Scripture portions in the Tai Kao language since 1969, few have shown any interest in Christianity. They have been described as "the most unreached of all the Tai groups." Little has changed since the 1920s, when missionaries in the region outlined their strategy for reaching the branches of the Tai in southern China: "We are not deaf to the call to plant and preach over the whole world … Neither do we put much reliance in the project to have the Chinese Christian assume entire responsibility for the evangelization of this disgracefully big unoccupied territory in Southwest China. There is too much racial antipathy. Chinese, unless under foreign guidance, will ever patronize the Tai ... and the Tai are as proud as the Chinese and resent being either abused or patronized."
The Tai Kao 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.
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 Kao 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 Kao in China.
Operation China, Asia Harvest, Copyrighted © Used with permission
Profile Source: Joshua Project |
People Name General | Tai Don, White Tai |
People Name in Country | Tai Kao |
Pronunciation |
tie cow
|
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 | 15,000 |
Population all Countries | 476,000 |
Total Countries | 4 |
Indigenous | Yes |
Progress Scale | 1 ● |
Unreached | Yes |
Frontier People Group | Yes |
GSEC | 1 (per PeopleGroups.org) |
Pioneer Workers Needed | 1 |
People ID | 18689 |
ROP3 Code | 109710 |
Country | China | ||
Region | Asia, Northeast | ||
Continent | Asia | ||
10/40 Window | Yes | ||
National Bible Society | Website | ||
Persecution Rank | 16 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) | ||
Location in Country | Approximately 11,000 Tai Kao live on the banks of the Honghe River in Jinping County in the southern part of Yunnan Province. Jinping borders Vietnam where approximately 200,000 Tai Kao live - a similar number to the Tai Kao population in northern Laos. Small Tai Kao refugee communities are also found in France and the United States. Source: Operation China, 2000 |
Country | China |
Region | Asia, Northeast |
Continent | Asia |
10/40 Window | Yes |
National Bible Society | Website |
Persecution Rank | 16 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) |
Location in Country | Approximately 11,000 Tai Kao live on the banks of the Honghe River in Jinping County in the southern part of Yunnan Province. Jinping borders Vietnam where approximately 200,000 Tai Kao live - a similar number to the Tai Kao population in northern Laos. Small Tai Kao refugee communities are also found in France and the United States.. Source: Operation China, 2000 |
Primary Religion: | Ethnic Religions |
Major Religion ▲ | Percent |
---|---|
Buddhism |
0.00 %
|
Christianity (Evangelical 0.00 %) |
0.00 %
|
Ethnic Religions |
95.00 %
|
Hinduism |
0.00 %
|
Islam |
0.00 %
|
Non-Religious |
5.00 %
|
Other / Small |
0.00 %
|
Unknown |
0.00 %
|
Primary Language | Tai Don (15,000 speakers) |
Language Code | twh Ethnologue Listing |
Language Written | Yes ScriptSource Listing |
Total Languages | 1 |
Primary Language | Tai Don (15,000 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 | Anonymous |
Profile Source | Joshua Project |
Data Sources | Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more. |