Introduction / History

The Tai Lue are part of the official Dai nationality in China. Although the name "Tai" is said with a "t" sound, the Chinese pronounce it as "Dai."

The Tai Lue possess an ancient script, still used by Buddhists in the region. This profile refers to the Shui (Water) Dai in China who speak a different language from the Han Tai and Huayao Tai.

By the ninth century AD, the Tai Lue had a well-developed agricultural system. They used oxen and elephants to till the land and constructed extensive irrigation systems.

Most Tai Lue work in agriculture and animal husbandry in Southeast Asia. Most Tai Lue live in southeastern China. Large groups are also found in Laos, Thailand and Myanmar. After the Vietnam War, some Tai Lue migrated to the USA. In the USA, they have had to find new jobs to fit into a modern industrial society. Most American Tai Lue live in CA and in New York City.

What Are Their Lives Like?

The Tai Lue who come to the USA must make huge changes. They lived in simple villages, but upon arriving in the USA, they had to find a place to live, enroll their children in school and gain some type of employment. They must become proficient in the English language if they have any hope of improving their status in American society. At first, Tai Lue adults often must take menial jobs in restaurants, in sanitation and as taxi drivers. Once they learn English better paying jobs are open to them.

Tai Lue parents dream that their children will have a better life than they have. Parents encourage their children to graduate from college and enter professions in medicine, law, business, science, and education.

Each year the Tai Lue celebrate the Songkran Festival, when people splash water over each other, symbolizing the cleansing of sin from the previous year and a fresh start for the new year. American Tai Lue celebrate both Buddhist and American holidays.

Within a couple of generations, Tai Lue young people are nearly indistinguishable from other youth in the USA. In Southeast Asia, young Tai Lue marry within their group. In the USA, young people frequently marry outside the Tai Lue community.

What Are Their Beliefs?

Almost Tai Lue are Theravada Buddhists. They believe that if they live good lives, they will be reborn into a higher social position. The Tai Lue believe that wicked will come back as degraded animals. At certain times the Tai Lue pay homage to the spirits of those who have contributed greatly to the well-being of their descendants.

Some Tai Lue who live in the USA become secular and no longer believe as their grandparents and parents did. Some Tai Lue retain their Buddhist beliefs and visit Buddhist temples on a regular basis.

Only a tiny fraction of Tai Lue claim to be followers of Jesus Christ.

What Are Their Needs?

The Tai Lue need help learning English and in finding jobs. Most of all, the Tai Lue people need a spiritual hunger that will drive them to the Lord Jesus. He alone can forgive their sins and delivers them from their fear of evil spirits.

Prayer Points

Pray the Lord moves American believers to develop relationships with the Tai Lue and tell them about the Savior.

Pray that the Tai Lue would hunger for the things of God.

Pray that the Tail Lue would be open to reading the New Testament and other materials in the Lue language.

Pray the Christians would demonstrate the love of Christ to the Tai Lue in practical ways.

Ask the Lord to raise up a churching planting movement among the Tai Lue in Southeast Asia and in the USA.

Scripture Prayers for the Tai Lue in United States.