Saek people group of Laos
 
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  • Population: 15,000(1990);18,750(2000);23,040(2010)
  • Main Province: Khammouan
  • Language Affiliation: Tai
  • Religion: Animism
  • Christians: none known

The main information provided here is used by permission from asiaharvest.org

Additional information may be provided by millionelephants.com

Pray for the Saek
  • Pray Lao evangelists would be moved by God to plant churches among the unreached Saek people.
  • Ask God to send workers to impact the Saek in both Laos and Thailand.
  • Pray efforts to reach the Saek with Lao literature and media would bear lasting fruit.

Approximately 18,000 Saek people are believed to live in Khammouan Province in central Laos. They live in the Hinboun and Grommarol districts.

An additional 11,000 Saek reportedly live in Thailand, especially in Sakonnakhon Province. The Saek are not the same as the Sach, a Viet-Muong speaking group in eastern Khammouan. The Sach were officially counted in the Lao census under the name Xaek. The Sach were not acknowledged as a distinct ethnic group in the census, but were probably included under the figures for the Lao or the Phu Tai. The Saek language is part of the Northern Tai branch, but today most speak Lao, and the use of their mother-tongue is fading. Some linguists can find only "minor differences" between Lao and Saek.

The main differences that help an outsider distinguish the Saek from the Lao is their customs and their religion.

The Saek are famous for the "round dances" of their women. Saek houses are typically constructed of wood or bamboo. They are elevated off the ground, which enables the family's pigs, goats and chicken to run around beneath the floorboards.

In recent decades the Saek have intermarried with the So ethnic group, who live in the northern part of Khammouan Province.

Unlike their Lao neighbors, the Saek have never fully embraced Buddhism. Their villages contain no temples or Buddhist altars. One source states, "Although they are surrounded by Buddhism, most of the Saek in Laos adhere to their traditional ethnic beliefs [animism]. For example, ancestor worship (praying to deceased ancestors for help and guidance) is a common practice. Because these spirits are thought to cause illness, they have to be appeased through offerings. It is believed that each village has a 'guardian spirit' as well as various other spirits that are linked to the forces of nature."149

The extent of Christianity among the Saek is difficult to gauge, because of their high level of assimilation. It is possible there are some Saek believers meeting in Lao churches in the area. Overall, however, the majority of Saek have never heard the Gospel.

 

  

 

  

Additional Information

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