Tum people group of Laos
 
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  • Population: 2,510(1995);2,820(2000);2,530(2010)
  • Main Province: Borikhamxai
  • Language Affiliation: Mon-Khmer
  • Religion: Buddhism
  • 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 Tum
  • The Tum have been a neglected group in a nation that has been forgotten by most Christians. Pray for the Tum.
  • Plead with God for the salvation of the precious Tum ethnic group.
  • The Tum were created by God to worship and give glory to Him. Pray that they will soon know the Creator.

     The 1995 national census of Laos counted a total of 2,510 Toum people. This number may include the Hung and possibly one or two other small groups, which linguists have determined to speak distinct languages. The Hung live further north of the Tum and appear to have a separate ethnicity. A 1981 linguistic atlas listed a population of only 500 Tum people in Laos.

     The population of the Tum is expected to rise to more than 2,800 by the end of the 20th century, and may exceed 3,500 by the year 2010. Laos has one of the highest birthrates of any country in the world. According to government findings, each woman in Laos will give birth to an average of 7.1 children.

     The Tum inhabit three distinct locations. Most are found in the Khamkeut District of Borikhamxai Province, near the border between Laos and Vietnam.208 The area is remote and rarely visited by outsiders. The Tum live near the banks of the Nhang River. Borikhamxai contained a total of only 163,589 people according to the 1995 census, a density of only 11 people per square kilometer. A smaller number of Tum people have migrated inland and south to the Nakay District of Khammouan Province.

     The Tum area in Khammouan contains moderately high mountains that slope from south to west towards the Mekong River valley. The areas inhabited by the Tum are predominant-ly Tai Dam, Tai Kao and Phutai areas.

     The Tum language belongs to the Viet-Muong branch of the Mon-Khmer language family. It is closely related, or may be the same as the Hung language of Laos and Vietnam, and more distantly related to Viet-Muong varieties such as Tho and Muong, spoken by a combined total of more than a million people in central-northern Vietnam.

     The Tum are an unreached people group, of whom little is known. Few anthropologists or linguists have ever ventured into their villages to discover more of this small group. There are few Christian communities in the area of eastern Borikhamxai or northern Khammouan, and therefore few opportunities for the Tum to hear the Gospel in a language that is easily comprehended by them. There are no Scriptures or Gospel recordings in the Tum language, and no missionaries targeting them.

  

 

  

Additional Information

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