Approximately 1,400 Kniang Pong people live in northern Laos. They live near the Neun River in the Viangthong and Houamuang districts of Houaphan Province. The main center for the Kniang Pong is around the town of Hua Mong.

The Kniang Pong are not the same as the larger Pong ethnic group, some members of which also live in Houaphan Province. The Kniang Pong speak a language related to Khmu, while the Pong speak a Viet-Muong language. A high percentage of Kniang Pong are educated and able to read. Speakers of the same language as the Kniang Pong may live in northern Vietnam. Culturally and linguistically, the Kniang Pong of Laos seem to be closely related to the official Xinh Mun minority group in Vietnam, and the Puoc of Laos and Vietnam.

After two young Kniang Pong people are married, they move into the home of the bride's family. They stay there for several years until the couple has children, at which time they are allowed to move into their own home. If the couple do not produce a son, however, they must remain permanently in the home of the bride.

Kniang Pong women give birth in a squatting position beside the fireplace in their homes. The umbilical cord is placed in a bamboo container and hung on the branch of a large tree in the forest. It is believed that when the person dies, they will need to show their umbilical cord to the spirits in order to identify themselves.

When a Kniang Pong dies, a boy from the family of the deceased throws three stones on to the ancestral altar. They believe this symbolizes the anger the 'spirit of the house' has at having lost one of its occupants. The body is left in the house for up to a week before it is buried. In the warmer months the stench from the corpse becomes unbearable and the burial is conducted sooner. The body is covered with fragrant leaves before being put into the coffin. Money is placed in the mouth of the corpse and the person's thumbs and big toes are tied together.

All Kniang Pong are animists. Few have ever heard of Jesus Christ. Their remote geographical location and small, close-knit communities have ensured their complete isolation from Christianity.

Additional Information

1. Gospel Recording in Kniang Pong here: Kniang Pong resources page If you are aware of other recordings, literature, or anything else for the Pacoh people, please let us make it available online.
2. Getting there - If you make a trip to the Kniang Pong people, share your experience and advice here: Kniang Pong travel page
3. Information - Do you know something more about the beliefs of the Kniang Pong? Do you have a story to tell? Do you have a picture? Please share it here.
4. Does anyone know of a Kniang Pongbeliever 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: Kniang Pong 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