The Lu, or Tai Lu, inhabit a widespread area of northern Laos. The majority live in Phongsali, Luang Namtha, and Bokeo provinces,112 usually along the banks of the Mekong River. The home-land of the Lu is Sipsongpanna ('Twelve-thousand Rice Fields') in Yunnan Province, China, where more than 550,000 Lu can be found. A further 200,000 live in northern Myanmar, 78,000 are in Thailand, and several thousand Lu refugees have resettled in the United States, primarily in Colorado and California.In the late 1700's the Lu were attacked by invaders from Burma and many fled into Laos to escape the carnage. Large numbers of Lu have also been assimilated by other ethnic groups such as the Lao and Thai Kao.One early missionary who visited the Lu had this mixed report to say about them: "The Lu impressed me as less civilized as any Tai people I had ever met. They are less polite and deferential, more talkative, even rude in their manners. But they are less timid, more sturdy, more hospitable, more receptive."113The Lu possess an ancient script, still used by Buddhists in the region. Although nominally adherents to Theravada Buddhism, most Lu observe animistic rituals designed to protect them from the threat of evil spirits. At certain times of the year the Lu pay homage to the spirits of those who have contributed greatly to the well-being of their descendants... "Sacrifices are offered to the spirits [and] the village is shut in on itself; all roads and tracks giving access to the community are blocked with barricades of trees and branches...the whole village is encircled with ropes made of straw or a line of white cotton thread, to represent symbolically an encircling wall preventing entry or exit. No outsiders of any description, not even monks or members of the elite ruling class, are permitted to attend these rites."114There are a small number of Lu Christians in China, Myanmar and Thailand, but the Lu in Laos and Vietnam have little knowledge of the Gospel. Despite their large size, there are no Gospel radio broadcasts or Jesus film available in the Lu language. The 1933 Lu New Testament was reprinted in 1996 for Lu believers in Myanmar.
Pray for the Lu