More than 100,000 Phuan people live in central Laos. Their main location is near the Plain of Jars in Xiangkhoang Province. The Plain of Jars is an ancient collection of hundreds of huge stone jars, weighing between 600 kg to one tonne each. The largest weighs six tonnes. The jars are commonly believed to be around 2,000 years old, but no one is sure why they were made or what they were used for.

A similar number of Phuan (about 100,000) are located in northeast and central areas of Thailand, especially in Udon Thani, Lopburi and Sukkothai. The Thais call them Lao Phuan. The Phuan were taken as captives of war and forcibly removed to Thailand between 1827 to 1890 after the collapse of the Lan Xang ('Million Elephants') kingdom in Laos. The Thais used the Phuan as captive farm laborers. They were treated well, except when the Phuan tried to escape.

The Phuan in Laos were not counted as a distinct group in the 1995 census. They were probably either included under the Lao or Phutai. The Phuan language is related to Lao, Tai Dam and Northern Thai, but they retain their ethnicity as a distinct people.

The Phuan are organized into small village-level units under the authority of a chao muong, or prince. In the past the common people were forced to pay tax and render free labor for the chao muong, but this practice has gradually faded under Communist rule.

The ideal family size for a Phuan is to have five children. They prefer to have a girl first (to help the mother), then three boys, to work and join the monkhood, then finally another girl. It is considered a great honor for the eldest son of a Phutai to join the Buddhist monkhood. It is believed this will secure a better position for the whole family in the next life.

There are a small number of Christians among the Phuan in both Laos and Thailand, although most Phuan have yet to receive an intelligible Gospel witness. One tourist book suggests there may be a considerable number of Phuan Christians near Pakxan in Borikhamxai Province: "The local population is pre-dominantly Phuan, a tribal Thai group; many are Christian, which makes them doubly suspicious in the eyes of the Lao authorities."132

Additional Information

1. Gospel Recording in Phuan here: Phuan resources page If you are aware of other recordings, literature, or anything else for the Phuan people, please let us make it available online.
2. Getting there - If you make a trip to the Phuan people, share your experience and advice here: Phuan travel page
3. Information - Do you know something more about the beliefs of the Phuan? Do you have a story to tell? Do you have a picture? Please share it here.
4. Does anyone know of a Phun believer inside or outside of Laos?
5. Intercession - Have you gotten any impressions, scriptures or words while praying for this group? Have you visited their area? Please share these and we will include them on the prayer page here: Phuan prayer page
6. Adoption - This is a small group, but that doesn't diminish the importance of these people in Gods' heart. If you feel led to focus on this group, maybe God will use in a miraculous way to reach them with the Gospel! Need assistance? Contact us at: millionelephants@gmail.com, subject: adoption